Culinary Medicine Corner: Black Bean and Beet Veggie Burgers with Chef Laura Robertson-Boyd

I love beets: the much maligned, under-appreciated, lowly, earthy root vegetable. I think more people should enjoy beets as much as I do, but their reputation has been sullied by cans or jars of pickled Harvard beets – the first (or only) thing that comes to mind for most people. So as I have been teaching cooking classes with a focus on seasonal and local foods for the last 15 years, I take every opportunity I can to expose folks to news ways to eat and appreciate beets. I’ve made recipes from beet hummus to beet brownies and everything in between.

Throughout most of the summer growing season, local farmer’s markets have had beets available. They’re also a good storage crop as the season starts to cool into fall, so they’re still plentiful, even as more perishable produce fades for the season (think summer peaches and corn). I like to roast beets, then peel and store them in Ziploc bags in the freeze to have beets available throughout the winter. When my kids were younger, they got tired of eating beets when not much seasonal produce is available in the short, dark days of winter, and my daughter whined, “When will it NOT be beet season?!” Unfortunately for her, I happily said: “It is ALWAYS beet season in our house because I have plenty in the freezer!”

If you haven’t had beets lately, I encourage you to pick some up at your local farmer’s market and try the following recipe for Black Bean and Beet Burgers – a take on the famous NorthStar Burger. This recipe makes a big batch – suitable for freezing so you can have a delicious, plant-based burger ready to go when you don’t have time to cook. Enjoy!


Black Bean and Beet Veggie Burgers

Ingredients

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2 cups (dry) brown rice, cooked according to package directions and cooled completely [or 6 cups of cooked brown rice, refrigerated overnight]

½ yellow onion, diced small

2 cups of old-fashioned rolled oats

½ bunch of Italian parsley, stemmed and roughly chopped

2 tsp. Kosher salt

½ cup of chopped prunes (dried plums)

1 canned chipotle pepper

1 Tbsp. Adobo sauce (the sauce that the chipotle pepper is canned in)

1 ½ cups (or 1 can, drained and rinsed) cooked black beans

2 medium-large beets, roasted*, peeled and chopped

1 Tbsp. brown or Dijon mustard

*To roast beets: Trim off any beet greens. Wash beets, prick all over with a fork and wrap individually in aluminum foil. Place beets on a sheet pan and roast in a preheated 425-degree oven for 45-60 minutes until beets are tender when pierced with a paring knife. Allow to cool completely, then use a paring knife to peel off the skin.

Directions:

  1. In a large mixing bowl, combine rice and yellow onions.

  2. In a food processor, pulse oats until fine. Add parsley and salt and pulse until combined. Add to rice mixture in bowl.

  3. Place the remaining ingredients (prunes through mustard) in the food processor and pulse until well blended. Add to rice mixture. Mix thoroughly.

  4. Form into patties. Brush with olive oil and grill or cook in a hot skillet, 2-3 minutes per side.

  5. Alternatively, place patties on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Spray with cooking spray and bake in a 375-degree oven for 10 minutes. Remove pan from oven, flip patties over and bake an additional 10 minutes until lightly browned on both sides.

Yield: 12-15 large patties

Chef’s Note: Burgers store well in the freezer. Place a piece of wax or parchment paper in between burgers, then place in a Ziploc freezer bag. Store up to 6 months.


Laura Robertson-Boyd is a professionally trained chef and experienced chef instructor. Since 2011, Laura has been teaching hands-on cooking and nutrition classes to medical students and professionals, empowering physicians to discuss diet and lifestyle choices with patients as a way of disease prevention and management. Laura delivers Culinary Medicine curricula to medical school students and residents in partnership with central Ohio medical schools and hospitals. Laura is continually looking for new ways to integrate a hands-on approach to healthful food education into the healthcare sector, connecting the dots between the social determinants of health and creative approaches to managing care and treatment.

Laura holds degrees in Culinary Arts from Johnson & Wales University and English from The Ohio State University and is currently pursuing a Master in Public Administration from Franklin University.


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