Recipes for Health: White Bean Burgers

I'd like you to meet a new addition to my life, something that will probably change the way I cook from here on out:

It's a Cuisinart 4-cup food processor. It chops, it grinds, and it's awesome. It made the Recipe for Health I prepared last night a cinch, and I see myself using it often. It even came with a helpful booklet to tell me what type of things should be ground (cinnamon sticks, peppercorns) and what should be chopped (most everything else). I have a hard time resisting kitchen supplies and it was a dangerous move for me to enter Sur La Table, but I was strong and left with only what I came for.

This baby chopped my onion and parsley for me, pureed my beans, and made my fresh breadcrumbs for this Recipe for Health. The only manual thing I had to do was grate the carrot. (Unfortunately the 4-cup food processor does not come with a grater attachment. Oh well. At least I gave my arms a workout after yet another rest day.)

These healthy homemade veggie burgers are a little time-consuming, but delicious and worth the time they take. Sadly, I didn't have any ketchup to top them with, but I think they'd be perfect with some. Martha says they make six servings, but I managed to get eight out of this recipe. Be careful when you flip them (use any offset spatula) -- they fall apart very easily and should definitely not be made on a barbecue!

White Bean Burgers
by Martha Rose Shulman

Ingredients:
2 cans white (cannellini) beans, drained and rinsed
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped - I used the food processor -- so quick and easy!
Salt to taste
2 to 3 large garlic cloves (to taste), green shoots removed, minced - I pretty much always use minced garlic from a jar
2/3 cup finely grated carrot - I used 3/4 cup
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
¼ cup finely chopped parsley - Food processor to the rescue for this one too!
2 teaspoons minced fresh sage or thyme - I omitted this
½ cup fresh bread crumbs - I used ½ of a whole wheat Arnold sandwich thin and pulsed it in the food processor
1 egg, beaten
Freshly ground pepper to taste
Whole grain hamburger buns and the condiments of your choice

Directions:
1. Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a medium-size skillet and add the onion. Cook, stirring, until tender, about 5 minutes. Add a pinch of salt, the garlic and the grated carrot, and continue to cook for another minute or two, until fragrant and the carrot has softened slightly. Remove from the heat.

2. In a food processor fitted with the steel blade, puree the beans with the lemon juice. Transfer to a bowl and stir in the onion mixture, the parsley, sage or thyme, the bread crumbs and the egg. Season to taste.

3. Shape into patties, ½- to ¾-inch thick. Set on a parchment-covered baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours.

4. Heat the remaining oil in a large, heavy skillet or on a griddle over medium heat and brown the patties for 4 minutes on each side, being very careful when you turn them over. An offset spatula works well for this. Serve on whole grain buns, with the condiments of your choice.

Dinner (and many more meals to come...) is served!

Nutritional facts per patty, based on eight patties (calculated using the SparkPeople Recipe Calculator)
Calories: 186
Total fat: 4.5 g (0.8 g saturated, 0.5 g polyunsaturated, 2.8 g monounsaturated)
Total carbohydrate: 28.5 g (6.3 g fiber)
Protein: 9.4 g