This recipe is adapted from Jodi over at What's Cooking Good Looking. Thank you for the inspiration, Jodi!

Introducing the beet & farro veggie burger. I stumbled upon this recipe by following @thefeedfeed on instagram, one of my favorite food accounts ever. They reposted this amazing recipe from Jodi, and I knew I had to try. I didn't have every ingredient on hand, so I slightly adjusted them to make them my own. I could have gone out and made them perfectly like Jodi's, but I find that part of the reason I love cooking is that you can self express, think on your feet, and get resourceful. Half the fun of cooking in the kitchen is using what you already have and making a recipe your own. I love to play around with recipes and tweak them using different ingredients.

These earthy darling burgers are sweeter than expected and when you pan-fry them, they have a delightfully crispy outside and a soft, chewy inside. Kind of like a super rare meat burger, but way better for you. Jodi used a cilantro-based chimichurri sauce but all I had was sage, so I made a sage sauce. It was divine. Make these this weekend and tag me in your creations!

Recipe:

(Makes 5 patties)

Burgers

1/3 cup activated farro (cooked)
2 large raw beets, peeled and cut
1/4 cup chopped raw cauliflower
1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
2 eggs, beaten
2/3 cup pepitas, or pumpkin seeds
1/3 cup rolled organic oats

Cook farro. Set aside. Place chopped beats, cauliflower, 1/2 of the pepitas, salt, pepper, red onion, and oats in a food processor or blender. Blend until smooth. Add farro. Blend again. Transfer to a bowl. Add some pumpkin seeds for some texture. Add 2 beaten eggs. Let sit in the fridge for 30-45 minutes to set.

Sage Chimichurri Sauce

6 oz organic greek yogurt
1 cup finely chopped fresh sage
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
2 tbsp of some really good cold pressed olive oil
1 tsp sea salt
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice

Chop the garlic, sage, and onion finely and mix into yogurt. Slowly add your olive oil. Feel free to use any other fresh herbs you have on hand- cilantro, parsley, thyme, rosemary... the more herbs, the better! Let sit over night or for at least 1 hour before serving so that the herbs marinate.

After your burgers have set for a bit, heat 1 tbsp coconut oil in a frying pan on your stove top over high heat. Form patties with your hands (or meatballs!) and cook evenly on each side, about 4 minutes or until golden brown. Careful flipping these babies, they can be tricky as my burgers were very moist on the inside and kind of slipped a bit.

For the bun, I toasted a Million Dollar Bun by Dave's Killer Bread. I first experienced DKB while at Expo West in March. His breads are super soft and moist, reminiscent of a potato roll but 100x better for you. Plus, I love when you can see the seeds! They are 100% organic and non-gmo, so I feel way better about eating them. They also have regular sliced breads too, as well as hot dog buns. If you see them, definitely recommend them- they are delicious!

I laid my burger atop a bun, topped it with some chimichurri, fresh heirloom spinach from the market, and and a perfectly ripe fuerte avocado. I've really been on an divine avocado kick lately. When I lived in New York, I ate them sometimes, but I found that they weren't always ripe, and usually battered and bruised. Since moving to California, the avocados are perfectly, ripe, soft, and way brighter and better tasting. They taste creamier, fresher, and earthier. It's because they are! They don't have to be shipped thousands of miles to be enjoyed. And this makes me happy.