How about a healthy, vegetarian twist on sandwiches? Instead of bread, use large Portobello mushroom caps baked in olive oil. Make the patties with quinoa, flour, and zucchini. Add these to the mushrooms together with refreshing baby spinach, tomato, bell pepper, and red onion.
Ingredients Needed for Mushroom and Quinoa Burger
For the quinoa patties:
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 onion, diced
1 cup cooked quinoa (from 1 cup of uncooked quinoa)
1 zucchini, julienned
½ cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
salt
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 whisked egg
For the mushrooms:
4 portobello mushroom caps
4 tablespoons of olive oil
salt
pepper
For assembling the burgers:
4 ounces of baby spinach
2 yellow bell pepper slices
1 medium tomato, sliced (8 slices)
1 medium-small red onion, sliced (6 rings)
How to Make Mushroom and Quinoa Burger
- Heat the oil in a skillet over low heat and add the onion. Cook and stir until tender. Set aside.
- For the quinoa:
Rinse the quinoa using a strainer under cool, running water. Fill a pot with 2 cups of water, add salt and bring it to a boil. Add the quinoa and cook, covered, for 15 minutes or until the water has been absorbed. Remove from heat and let stand, covered, for 5 minutes.
- For the quinoa patties:
Add the cooked quinoa, zucchini, whole wheat flour, cooked onion, cayenne pepper, garlic, and the whisked egg. Season with salt and mix all until even.
- Use this mixture to form 2 big flat patties.
- Line a baking dish with parchment paper, place the patties in there, and bake for 20 minutes at 350⁰F/175⁰C.
- For the mushrooms:
Place the Portobello mushrooms in a baking dish, drizzle them with olive oil, season with salt and pepper, then bake for 10 minutes at 400⁰F/200⁰C.
- Assemble the sandwiches:
Place one Portobello cap upside-down on the work surface. Start adding on top of it: 1 ounce of baby spinach leaves, 1 quinoa patty, 1 slice of bell pepper, 4 tomato slices, and, again, 1 ounce of baby spinach. Top with a Portobello cap. Do the same for the second sandwich.
