Roasted Butternut Squash-Quinoa Veggie Burger

Submitted by Diet It Up

"I bought Hubert Keller's Burger Bar cookbook and decided to skip right by the fattening yet delicious beef burger recipes and try a garden variety. I made a few slight adjustments to accommodate my own tastes and dietary restrictions. These were so tasty; I didn't even miss the moo."

 

• Ready In: 2hrs 10mins
• Ingredients: 18
• Yields: 6 patties
• Serves: 6

ingredients

• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted (or margarine)
• 1 pinch ground cinnamon
• kosher salt & freshly ground black pepper
• 1 small butternut squash, halved and seeds removed
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1⁄2 cup quinoa, well-rinsed
• 1 cup water
• 1⁄4 cup ground hazelnuts
• 1⁄2 cup whole wheat breadcrumbs, plus more if mixture is too wet
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 6 slices gruyere cheese
• 6 whole grain buns
• 6 leaves butter lettuce
• 6 slices tomatoes
• caramelized shallot (Caramelized Shallots)
• piquillo pepper ketchup (Piquillo Pepper Ketchup)

directions

1. Preheat oven to 400°F Line a baking sheet with foil.
2. In a small bowl, mix together the honey, butter, cinnamon and salt and pepper to taste.
3. Arrange the squash on the baking sheet, cut side up, and coat the squash with the butter mixture.
4. Roast until soft, about 40 minutes.
5. While the squash is roasting, heat 2 teaspoons olive oil in saucepan. Add quinoa and toast lightly, about 3 minutes.
6. Add the water. Bring to a boil. Add large pinch of salt and cover. Simmer for about 15 minutes. Let cool and fluff grains with a fork.
7. Scoop squash flesh into a small bowl and mash lightly. Add about 2 cups of the squash to the quinoa with the hazelnuts, breadcrumbs, beaten egg, crushed red pepper and salt and pepper to taste.
8. Cover bowl and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Form into 6 patties and refrigerate the patties for another 30 minutes.
9. Heat remaining two tablespoons olive oil in large nonstick skillet. Cook burgers until crusted and brown, about 3 minutes per side. Melt a slice of Gruyère cheese over each burger for the last minute of cooking.
10. Toast buns. Arrange lettuce leaf on bun bottom along with tomato slice and caramelized shallots (Recipe #408147). Top with a burger and spoonful of Piquillo Pepper Ketchup (Recipe #408089). Serve with oven fries (Recipe #408087).

Reviews

[katez21]

I had some leftover squash in the fridge so I used that, and I spotted some leftover cooked barley in there, so I used that instead of quinoa! It was interesting and really quite tasty, though it was more of a "pancake" texture than a "burger" texture. Next time I'll definitely use the quinoa. My squash was seasoned with curry powder, and I used a clove of fresh garlic and some fresh sage and parsley. Yummy and different! Thanks for the inspiration.

 

[Roxygirl in Colorado]

I love trying different kinds of veggie burgers and this had an intriguing list of ingred. This was my first time making quinoa, and the organic brand I bought didn't require pre-washing. I used almonds for the nuts (I just noticed it said "ground," but I chopped and enjoyed the texture). I used dried bread crumbs, too. I topped with Cheddar and cranberry sauce for me and jalapeno jack for my husband. We both enjoyed these burgers very much! Thanks Diet It Up, for a great recipe.