Quinoa and beetroot is such a great combination. I have many different recipes with this combo that I keep coming back to over and over again. Quinoa and beet burgers are quite a classic nowadays and you can find various recipes for them all over the internet. This recipe has a little heat (from chili) added to it and together with the slightly subtle flavor of lemon zest you will get a more exiting and surprising result.
Another great partner for beetroot is mustard. For these quinoa and beet burgers I have created a mustard sauce with a base of cashews. It is almost impossible to believe that this sauce is dairy free, but it really is! Cashews are a great base for so many vegan and raw recipes where you would normally use sour cream, cream, creme fraiche, milk or yogurt. Not only will the great texture completely surprise you but also the mild and creamy flavor. If you haven’t yet tried to use cashews this way I seriously suggest you give it a go!
Quinoa Beet Mini Burgers With Cashew Mustard Sauce
Quinoa Beet Mini Burgers
- 1.5 dl / 0.6 cup quinoa
- 1 big or 2 small onions
- 200 g beetroot
- zest from 1 lemon
- 1 dl / 0.4 cup chickpea flour / besan /gram flour
- 1 tbsp chili flakes
- 1 tsp salt
- vegetable oil for frying
Cashew Mustard Sauce
- 50 g cashews
- juice from half a lemon
- 1 garlic clove
- 1-2 tsp dijon mustard
- 0.5 tsp salt
- a pinch of turmeric (for nice color)
- 0.5-1 dl / 0.2-0.4 cup water
Method:
Quinoa Beet Mini Burgers
- Cook the quinoa for about 20 minutes or until soft. Let it cook for a bit longer than you would normally do when preparing for example a quinoa salad. You want the quinoa more soft than for a salad but a bit more firm than porridge. I like to prepare the quinoa by cooking it in a lot of water, like when I prepare pasta, and then remove the water by pouring everything into a strainer. Set aside.
- While the quinoa is cooling you chop the onion finely and fry it in a generous amount of oil. When the onion is soft and golden brown it is done. set aside.
- Peel the beets and shred them finely in a food processor alternatively chop them finely into a sprinkles in a food processor.
- Place all ingredients for the burgers in a bowl and mix thoroughly using your hands. You need to almost mash or kneed the mixture a bit until it becomes very well combined and mushy. Try to fry a test-burger and see if the texture is fine. If it comes out to soft or if it doesn’t stick together simply add more chickpea flour and try again. Fry the rest of the burgers and serve warm. The burgers could also be prepared in the oven on 200C /390F for approximately 25 minutes. Enjoy!
Cashew Mustard Sauce
- Soak the cashews over night or at least for five hours.
- Add all the ingredients for the sauce in a food processor or a blender and mix until you have a completely smooth sauce. Adjust the amount of water depending on desired thickness. Serve at once together with the mini burgers. Enjoy!
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