I love chilli, I love burgers and I love sweet potatoes, so why not combine all 3 to create an epic meat free meal!!
Long ago the thought of a veggie burger would fill me with dread.. as a keen meat eater I was ignorant as to just how tasty a veggie burger could be. After all its as simple as packing the flavours in to the patties, so what better flavours then those of my favourite cuisine, Mexican!!
Now be warned even with the help of breadcrumbs, or as I highly recommend using, crushed nachos, this veggie burger is still softer then its average meaty counterpart, a simple bean burger would be firmer but I love the sweet flavour the potatoes bring, especially when you add pico de Gallo and a spicy lime mayo to the mix. (see tips at the bottom for the lime mayo) it's the perfect balance of Mexican flavours.
Look for around at least 50/50 mixture of sweet potato and kidney bean mix, to make firmer burgers.
Prep time 15 mins
Cooking time 30mins
(plus 1hr to bake potatoes and 30mins to chill the patties)
2 sweet potatoes, weighing 350g
4tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, finely diced
1 red bell pepper, cored and finely diced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2tsp mild chilli powder
2tsp ground cumin
2tsp ground coriander
1tsp paprika (sweet)
400g red kidney beans, well drained and lightly crushed with a fork
100g panko breadcrumbs or 75g crushed nachos
Salt and pepper to taste
1 red onion, finely diced
8 cherry tomatoes, finely diced
Juice of 1/2 lime (maybe a little more depending on the size of your onion)
1/4tsp salt
Small bunch of coriander, about 4tbsp once roughly chopped
Pre heat your oven to 170c.
Place the sweet potatoes on a baking tray and bake until soft inside, about 50mins-1hr.
You can use this time to make the Pico de Gallo by combining all the ingredients listed and set aside.
Once the potatoes are nicely baked remove them from the oven and set aside to cool.
Heat 2tbsp of your olive oil in a frying pan, and on a medium heat add the diced onion and diced red pepper, continue to cook until they are nice and soft, this will take about 8 mins.
Now add the garlic, cook gently for 1 min and then go in with the chilli powder, cumin, coriander and paprika cook off for another 3mins until fragrant. Add a splash of water to help the spices cook without being to dry in the pan.
Now that potatoes are cool enough to handle, scoop out the flesh into a mixing bowl, add the onion and spice mixture, crushed kidney beans and breadcrumbs (or nachos if your using them)
At this point add salt and pepper, you will probably need to add quite a bit of salt as we haven't seasoned anything yet, so keep adding a few grinds at a time, mixing and then have a taste, keep going until your happy with the flavour. Sometimes depending on my mood I'll add some more chilli powder to.
Now it comes to moulding the patties. Naturally veggie burgers will be a little softer once cooked then a normal burger but you should be able to mould them pretty easy, if the mixture still seem a little wet just add some more breadcrumbs or crushed nachos, whichever you're using, this should firm them up enough to shape. You should be able to make between 4-6 patties depending on the size.
Pop the patties on to a lined baking tray and pop in the fridge for 30mins.
Once your ready to cook, heat a frying pan on a medium to high heat and drizzle in 2tbsp of olive oil. Once the oil is hot add the burgers in and cook for 4 mins on each side, or until golden and delicious.
Serve in toasted burger buns with your Pico de Gallo, crisp lettuce and mayo.
You can make a spicy lime mayo by mixing 4tbsp of mayo with the juice of 1/2 a lime and 1tsp of hot sauce.
Alternatively you can bake the patties in the oven for around 10mins.
