Mediterranean Veggie Burgers

These were fine. Jared gave them a 5 and I gave them a 6.8. I really liked the tzatziki sauce and feta/cucumber/tomato topping, but the burgers themselves were blah. We obviously ate them without the hamburgers buns. I got the recipe from annies-eats.com.

INGREDIENTS

For the tzatziki sauce: 

• 1 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded and coarsely shredded
• 1 cup greek yogurt
• 3 cloves minced garlic
• 2 tsp. lemon juice
• 2 tsp. olive oil
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the burgers: 

• ½ cup uncooked quinoa
• 1 tbsp. olive oil, divided, plus more for pan
• 1 cup water or veggie broth
• 1 (15 oz) can chickpeas (or 1½ cup cooked chickpeas)
• ¾ cup old fashioned oats
• ½ cup yellow cornmeal
• 1 tsp. kosher salt
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 large egg
• 1 tbsp. minced fresh oregano
• 1 tbsp. minced fresh parsley I used dried
• ¼ cup diced red bell pepper I used green pepper

For the topping: 

• 1 medium cucumber, seeded and diced
• ½ cup cherry or grape tomatoes, diced I used fresh garden tomatoes
• 2-3 oz. feta cheese, crumbled
• Salt and pepper

Cooking View

DIRECTIONS

• To make the tzatziki, wrap the shredded cucumber in a towel and squeeze to remove as much excess water as possible. Mix together with the greek yogurt, garlic, lemon juice and olive oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Refrigerate while you prepare the burger patties and topping.
• In a fine mesh strainer, rinse the quinoa well. Shake vigorously to remove as much water as possible.  Heat 1 teaspoon of the olive oil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat.  Add the drained quinoa to the pan and cook, stirring frequently, until lightly toasted, 2-3 minutes. Stir in the water or veggie broth and bring to a boil.  Lower the heat to a simmer, cover, and let cook for 15 minutes.  Remove from the heat and let stand covered, 5 more minutes.  Remove the lid, fluff with a fork, and set aside to let cool.
• In the bowl of a food processor, combine the chickpeas, oats, cornmeal, salt, and garlic. Process until the mixture is finely ground and well blended.  Pulse in the egg until combined.  Transfer the mixture to a large mixing bowl.  Fold in the cooled quinoa, oregano, parsley and red pepper, as well as the remaining 2 teaspoons of olive oil.  Stir together gently until evenly mixed.  Form the mixture into patties (about 6-8, depending on the size you make).
• To make the topping, combine the cucumber, tomatoes and feta in a bowl and toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
• To cook the burgers, add a generous drizzle of olive oil to a large skillet and heat over medium-high.  Coat the bottom of the skillet with the oil.  Add the patties to the pan and cook, turning once, until both sides are browned and the patties are cooked through, about 6-8 minutes total.  Remove the cooked patties from the pan. Assemble the cooked patties on toasted burger buns (if desired) with the tzatziki sauce and cucumber feta mixture.