I’m a meat and carb lover, hands down. I grew up believing dinner consisted of a meat, a starch, and a vegetable—and I still do. It’s silly but I find it immensely difficult to break with “tradition.” That’s what my momma did (and her momma, too!) and there’s just something so homey, so comforting about following in their footsteps. Admittedly, I’ve always been pretty conservative when it comes to my beloved familial traditions—big or small. They always remind me of my wonderful childhood, and that includes my mom’s homecooked meals. But now that I have my own family, I realize that personalizing some of the rituals I grew up with doesn’t diminish them, but rather memorializes them.
Take my mom’s three-squared suppers, for example. Nowadays, there’s a lot of literature out there proclaiming that meats and carbs (the processed kind, anyway) are our enemies, but for everything you read, there’s someone else telling you the opposite. And, hell, I grew up on worse things than meat and carbs and I’m turning out OK. For me, it’s all about moderation. Eat what you want, just be smart about it: Don’t pound sugar (someone needs to inform my sweet tooths); replace refined carbs with whole; rotate your protein sources to include fish, nuts, beans; and eat more fruits and vegetables.
Easy peasy, lemon breezy, right? (I know what you’re thinking: This is rich coming from a glutton and I cannot defend myself; I love—no revere—food and you only live once, so I’m just gonna leave that right there.)
That being said, my family does enjoy a rather healthy diet and we always “eat the rainbow.” (I’ve never met a veggie I didn’t like.) And while I’ll never give up meat or carbs in the traditional sense, I do try to find healthier choices for my family. And one of my go-to options is canned beans. They are not only delicious, hearty, and a good source of protein and fiber, but they are insanely versatile, cheap, and readily available. Plus, we (being the crazies that we are) had stocked up on them before quarantine went into effect. Which leads me to my next recipe I’d like to share with all of you, a simple, yet tasty dish I threw together one night when I wanted a nourishing meatless option. I used chickpeas this time, but it will work with any canned bean you have on hand—black, kidney, cannellini, fava, navy, pinto. Add a dash of veggies and protein-packed quinoa and—voila!—you’ve got your three squares: “meat,” starch, veggie. Told ya I don’t like breaking tradition! 😊
Here we go …
Bean Burgers
Ingredients
1 (14 oz.) can chickpeas
1 onion, chopped small
1 stalk celery, chopped small
A handful of spinach (fresh or frozen)
2 tbsp EVOO
¼ cup quinoa
½ cup vegetable stock
1 tbsp fresh basil, chopped
Salt and pepper, to taste
Potato rolls (optional)
Instructions
1) Strain and rinse the chickpeas. Set aside.
2) In a small saucepan, bring quinoa, vegetable stock, and salt to a rapid boil; reduce heat to low; cover; and simmer for about 15 minutes or until the quinoa soaks up all the water. Set aside.
3) In a separate small frying pan, sauté onions, celery, and spinach in EVOO until the onions are soft/translucent and the water from the spinach evaporates.
4) In a medium bowl, mash the rinsed/cleaned chickpeas, leaving some pieces whole or halved.
5) Rough chop the fresh basil (you can add more or less depending on your preference).
6) To the bowl of mashed beans, mix in the cooked quinoa, the vegetable mixture, and the fresh basil.
7) Add salt and pepper to taste.
8) Form the mixture into four patties and chill in the fridge for at least one hour.
9) Heat a grill or frying pan over medium-high heat, spray the burgers with cooking spray (whichever you have on hand, or you can use EVOO), and grill for about 7-8 minutes on each side.
Notes
1) As I mentioned above, you can use any bean, herb, or vegetable for these burgers. That’s why this recipe is so awesome! I’ve used all types of beans and whatever roasted/prepared veggie I have leftover in my fridge (cauliflower, zucchini, carrots, brussels sprouts, mushrooms, broccoli, asparagus). Just chop up whatever you have and throw it into the mixture.
2) The cooked quinoa acts as the binder so it’s not necessary to use breadcrumbs or eggs in this recipe, but feel free to do so if you prefer. Just make sure you grill them all the way through to ensure the eggs are cooked. That said, the burgers are somewhat fragile and could break apart so be careful when you flip them.
3) We prefer to eat these burgers without buns/bread, but, again, anything works: rolls, pita bread, wraps, whatever floats your boat.
4) In terms of toppings, you have tons of options: mashed avocado, tomato slices (or even a homemade bruschetta), any type of cheese, arugula or romaine, salsa, sour cream, hummus.
5) No bean burger (or any burger for that matter) would be complete without a scrumptious sauce. Our favorite is this “Comeback Sauce” from the blog “She Wears Many Hats.” We use it on everything: chicken, tuna, BLTs, cheeseburgers, portobello burgers, sandwiches, potatoes. It’s divine!
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have some bean burgers to make, this time with cannellinis. I’m going to serve them with the Comeback sauce and homemade bruchetta, and a side of sauteed spinach. Drop me a line if you try my recipe or come up with your own special version. I’m always looking for suggestions on how to spruce up dinnertime at our house. It may not be the “traditional” way, but a big part of tradition is sharing what we love, and that is a footprint I will always follow. I think my mom would approve. ❤️
Smacznego!
