Pinto Spelt Burgers

Monday was bean burger day in my kitchen. I cooked a big batch of pinto beans and made 3 different types of bean burgers. I followed the recipes for the first 2 but by then I was so tired of using the stupid food processor that I decided to change the third recipe to suit myself. Plus I didn't have some of the ingredients and truly, I just like a chunkier bean burger than these recipes were giving me.

Lots of mashing and chopping ensued.

Yeah, I know, not the most appetizing looking mash-up.

But once you form the patties, the colors really pop. So pretty! Even by looks alone this looks waaaaay better than raw ground beef.

We have a fish fillet thing for our grill that the Bup uses for bean burgers. It's perfect! The wires are thin so they don't really stick and he can turn them over without the burgers falling apart.

These held together very well and would probably be fine without the fish-basket-turned-burger-basket. Just in case you want to try it and don't have one. The patties that are just mashed and not done in the food processor have proven to stick less and hold together better.

It was Memorial Day, so we had to grill! We roasted in the 90* heat, but we suffered through and ate outside. It might not have been so bad if our table wasn't right next to the 400* grill.

The burgers made it worth suffering the heat. They were delicious! We had them on Spelt Sandwich Bread Buns. I like to think that the spelts complimented one another, but probably that was just in my imagination.

Pinto Spelt Burgers
Adapted from Angela's In a Jiffy Spelt Veggie Burgers
Yield: 9 patties

2 c pinto beans
1 small carrot, minced
1 small onion, minced
1/2 small green bell pepper, minced
1/3 c minced radish greens (or other dark, leafy green)
1 tsp. dried basil
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
dash of cayenne pepper
1 tsp. minced garlic
1/4 c sunflower seeds
1 T chia seeds
3/4 c spelt flour
1/4 c lemon juice
1 T Bragg Liquid Aminos (or soy sauce)

Mash pinto beans well. Add carrot, onion, pepper & greens. Mix. Add spices, seeds, and flour, stirring until flour coats everything. Add lemon juice and Bragg liquid aminos. Combine. Using hands, shape into 9 patties of uniform size. Cook on a medium heat grill for about 5 minutes per side, or until patties begin to brown.

Notes:
-The patties can be frozen, just place wax paper between them and wrap tightly. They can go straight from the freezer to the grill, but may need to cook slightly longer.
-If it's not grilling season or you just don't want to be in the heat, the patties can be baked or cooked on a pan, stovetop. Times may vary.

Pinto Spelt Burgers

Burger Grilling Basket