103: Balsamic Beet Burgers

So bloody! Completely veggie. Vegan, even, though if I remake them they probably won't be. I based my recipe off this one from Macheesmo. A lot was adapted. Had the beets, obviously, but had cannellini beans on hand instead of black, and no rice so I used spelt. (What? I'd been meaning to try it). This weeks' herb is basil, so I went with that, and continued the trend with balsamic instead of cider vinegar.

Ingredients (approx, and you'll want to adjust per my little discussion below):
1 beet, roasted and diced fine
Half an onion diced fine
~1/4 jalapeno diced fine, seeded
1/3 cup spelt
1/3 cup white beans
5-6 leaves basil, diced fine
1/2 tbs balsamic vinegar
~ salt, pepper, olive oil
~ flour

My beet was already roasted, so I started the jalapenos and onion in a pan with some olive oil and salt. Once those started to brown (low heat, took a bit) I added my garlic then beets and cooked a bit longer. Added the basil towards the end, then the balsamic vinegar. Tasted and adjusted spices. 

Cooked up the spelt like rice in this write up from the kitchn. I really like this stuff. People always say brown rice has a nutty flavor...I never taste it. This has an actual nutty flavor. It wasn't essential for this recipe (and may have hurt things a little), but super glad I cooked it up.

Put the pre cooked beans and spelt in a bowl, mashed a bit. Added the beet mixture and mixed. Tasted and adjusted spices a bit. Then added flour until I felt it would hold together. Two to three big spoonfuls. My ingredients were wet.

Cooked these up in a pan (they held together yay) and ate on some scratch focaccia, topped with a little pecorino cheese. 

I liked these overall, but if/when I make them again, I'm going to change a lot. The flavors were mild, next time I'll add a lot more basil, or maybe a range of spices instead of the one. I've been wary about those jalapenos after that one batch of baignan bharta was crazy spicy, but this definitely needed more heat.

I heart this bread but it wasn't a great choice. The burger held together but was still very soft, much softer than the bread. Regular burger buns would help, or maybe a English muffin if I'm feeling fancy. 

Speaking of the texture, the mix was way too wet. The spelt was still a bit al dente so it didn't mush to help keep things together, next time I'll cook the grains a little longer (and maybe actually use rice or quinoa), or omit them in lieu of more beans. I was debating using an egg instead of flour as a binder, except I didn't have any. Womp womp.

Honestly though, the next time I do this (I have another beet in the fridge, so it may be tonight!), part of me wants to do a very different flavor profile. Something a little smokier, or maybe curry.