Beetroot To You

Beetroot Picture from Unsplash

The title might suggest that I am talking about my friend Majk’s Beetroot song. It is a great song and one you should hear but not what I am really here to talk about. Beetroot burgers are where I am going with this title.

Some time ago my friend’s Leda and Nicole served me these lovely Beetroot Burgers and as always I have changed up the recipe a bit since they sent it to me.

Beetroot and Feta Burgers

600-800g Grated Beetroot (about 4 to 5 medium-sized ones or 3 large)
1 Caramelised Onion
3 Garlic cloves
2 tablespoons Olive or Groundnut Oil
2 large Eggs
4 1/2 ounces Rolled Oats
7 ounces Feta cheese
1.5 tablespoons of Green Pesto
1 handful fresh Basil, leaves picked
1 pinch sea salt and black pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil, for frying or you can bake them without additional oil.

  1. Peel and grate beetroots, onion, and garlic on a box grater or use a food processor with the grating blades attached.
  2. Place the grated vegetables in a large mixing bowl.
  3. Add olive oil, eggs, and rolled oats and mix everything well.
  4. Add feta cheese, pesto, basil, salt, and pepper and stir to combine.
  5. Set aside for about 30 minutes or longer, so the oats can soak up the liquid and the mixture sets (this step is important for the patties to hold together).
  6. Try shaping a patty with your hands. If the mixture is too loose, add some more oats.
  7. Form 6 to 8 patties with your hands.
  8. Grill the burgers a couple of minutes on each side or fry them in a frying pan by heating a knob of coconut oil or ghee and fry until golden on both sides. Or put them in a hot oven 200c for about 35min turning midway through.
  9. Serve with grilled wholemeal brown bun and toppings of your choice (lettuce, cabbage, mango, avocado, tomatoes, sprouts, and onions).

I love these, I make them at least once a month and freeze them when cooked, what is nice is they take about the same time as oven chips to cook from frozen in the oven so for a lazy night in they are always a treat. I made quite a few for my mum over the past month while she has been recovering from an operation, ready to be taken out of her freezer so she does not have to stand cooking for too long, I used the stalks and leaves in the way the cooking tip below describes.

Cooking Tip

If you manage to buy your beets with leaves and stalks intact then cut these off they make a delicious additional meal with linguine, add the cut up stalks 4 min before your pasta is done and the leaves 1min before, drain well and stir through some pesto.