Cooking in Season: Beets & Carrots
By Lois Anne
Beets & Carrots!! So good, and they are being harvested in all their glory right now. Nutrition, flavor, color, versatility, and both have delicious & nutritious greens that can be eaten in numerous ways. A pesto can be made substituting fresh carrot tops greens for the basil. Beet greens lightly steamed & served with balsamic vinegar make a tasty side dish. Both raw beets and carrots can be grated and added to salads [beets need to be peeled, peeling carrots is optional if they’re well-scrubbed].
It’s challenging to focus on just one recipe featuring both vegetables, but my all-time favorite is based on “Baked Beet-and-Carrot Burgers” from Farmer John’s Cookbook: The Real Dirt on Vegetables, published by Gibbs Smith, Publisher, in 2006.
BAKED BEET & CARROT BURGERS
Makes 12 or more patties depending on size preference
Ingredients:
½ cup sesame seeds
1 cup sunflower seeds
2 cups peeled, grated beets [about 2 medium beets]
2 cups grated carrots [approximately 4 carrots]
1 medium onion, minced [1/2 cup]
2 eggs lightly beaten
1 cup cooked brown rice
½ cup vegetable oil of choice [I prefer olive oil]
½ cup finely chopped fresh parsley
3 tbsp flour [wheat or gluten-free]
2 tbsp tamari or soy sauce
1 tsp minced garlic [about 2 cloves]
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350*f. Grease baking sheet with butter. [If you prefer to line the baking sheet with parchment paper, grease the parchment paper – I’ve learned this necessity the hard way.]
Toast the sesame seeds in a dry skillet over medium heat, stirring until lightly browned & fragrant – about 3-5 minutes. Do not let them burn. Immediately transfer them to a dish to cool.
Repeat this step with the sunflower seeds, adding them to the dish to cool along with the sesame seeds.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the beets, carrots & onion. Stir in the cooled toasted seeds, eggs, rice, oil, flour, parsley, tamari or soy sauce and mix until thoroughly combined.
With oiled hands, shape the mixture into patties arranged in rows on the baking sheet. [Farmer John calls for forming 12 patties. Perhaps I make smaller ones, for I usually end up with about 20. Yet the baking time seems about the same.]
Bake the patties until brown around the edges, about 20 minutes. If they’re large & thick, or if you want them crispier, turn them with a flipper, and return to oven for five or more minutes until crispy on top & cooked all the way through.
Serve on buns, on plates, or eat them with your fingers.
Leftovers can be stored in a container in the refrigerator, best layered with parchment or waxed paper.
Enjoy!!
~ Lois Anne
Good Tern Co-op member since 1981
NOTES
1 – Farmer John calls for 1 cup of grated Cheddar cheese to be mixed in with the rice, etc. A vegan cheese could also be used.
2 – Farmer John adds 1/8-1/4 tsp cayenne pepper. If you don’t like heat or need to avoid nightshades, this is optional.
3 – If you don’t have flour, whizz some oats in the blender or food processor to make oat flour. This is what I usually do.
4 – If you only have cooked white or wild rice, or another cooked grain or oatmeal, use what you have. Or add another egg & some additional flour. Maybe a cup of mashed potatoes.
5 – Leftover burgers are delicious cold or reheated. At our house, we love them served for breakfast with a fried or poached egg.