Bean Burgers in Paradise

As you may recall, I have an intense, passionate, and extraordinary love for vegetarian sandwiches. Nothing gets me dancing in the kitchen like a thick, loaded, fork-and-knife, meatless sammie.

Amongst the most classic of veg-head sandwiches is the bean burger. The variations you can create with these protein-packed patties are endless. Bean burgers provide the perfect base to get infinitely creative with your mix-ins, whether it's roasted red pepper and parsley, or chickpeas and shredded carrot.

When we set forth to do our weekly menu plan on Saturday, I had a bean burger craving that was roaring loud. And I'm not just talking any bean burger, friends. I'm talking about Greek White Bean Burgers. Did I mention there's feta cheese in them? And crunchy, toasted walnuts? Oh, for the love of beans!

These puppies are simple, awesome, and oh-so-healthy. Bonus: they also double as a topping for your lunch salad the next day. You can "soup up" your bean burger with whatever toppings your heart desires. We topped ours with spinach, tomato, chopped avocado, a little goat cheese, and some roasted garlic hummus.

We enjoyed our burgers on Adam's homemade bread, as somebody (me?) forgot to pick up buns. They'd be great in a pita or flattened and rolled into a tortilla (yep, I seriously just suggested flattening them).

I'm singin', bean burgers in paradise...

Greek White Bean Burgers

(Adapted from a recipe found in Simple & Delicious Magazine)

Who says a vegetarian can't enjoy a burger? These flavorful patties are perfect in a bun, on a pita, or crumbled over your salad.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (toast them first for even more flavor!)
• 1 medium carrot, shredded
• 1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese
• 1/2 of a small onion, diced
• 2 - 3 cloves garlic, minced
• about 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 1 can (15 oz.) white beans (like Great Northern beans), rinsed and drained
• salt and ground black pepper to taste
• a little splash of lemon juice (if needed)
• a little olive oil (for the pan)
• Burger fixins' : spinach or lettuce, tomato, avocado, (goat!) cheese, etc.

Directions:

1) In a food processor, combine walnuts, carrot, feta cheese, onion, garlic, parsley, black pepper, and salt. Pulse until thoroughly mixed. Remove from the food processor.

2) Place white beans in the food processor and pulse until smooth (well, as smooth as you can make food-processed beans.)

3) Combine first mixture with the beans in a large bowl. Add a small splash of lemon juice if any moisture is needed to hold them together. (Note: You can add dried bread crumbs to bean burgers if they're too wet to form into patties, or a splash of liquid--water, broth, etc.--if they're too dry). Form into 4 patties.

4) Lightly oil a skillet with olive oil (about 1 TBSP?), and place over medium heat. Add patties and cook on one side until lightly browned (about 3 - 4 minutes, but watch carefully). Flip patties and cook on the other side until lightly browned.

5) Load your burger up with all the tasty fixings you can find. Doesn't it feel like paradise?