Recipe: Luke Hines’s Hemp and Beetroot Burgers With The Lot

Regardless of your food philosophy, one thing we can all agree on is that we need to eat more plants. In Eat More Vegan (Plum), Luke Hines shares 100 plant-based recipes that are packed with flavour, full of vibrant colour and bursting with nutrition. This delicious recipe is just one of an array of super healthy dishes Luke shares.

Hemp and Beetroot Burgers

Mastering the art of the perfect meatless burger all came down to experimenting with delicious hemp seeds. They really hold this burger together and provide a lovely nutty texture, plus heaps of nutrition from all the healthy omega-3s and protein that’s packed into them.

Ingredients

55 g ( cup) hulled hemp seeds, plus

3 tablespoons extra

175 g ( cup) sunflower seeds, plus

3 tablespoons extra

2 beetroot, peeled and coarsly chopped

2 teaspoons onion powder

1 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 tablespoon ground coriander

1 heaped teaspoon dried parsley

1 tablespoon coconut cream

1 tablespoon arrowroot or tapioca flour

35 g ( cup) almond meal

1–2 tablespoons filtered water, if needed

extra-virgin olive oil, for greasing

To Serve

1 butter lettuce, leaves separated

1 tomato, finely sliced

1 avocado, finely sliced

1 Lebanese cucumber, cut into ribbons

3 tablespoons Vegan Mayo

Method

In a food processor, blitz the hemp and sunflower seeds to a coarse meal consistency. Add the beetroot, onion powder, salt, pepper, cumin, coriander and parsley and pulse for a few seconds to just bring everything together (it should be a little chunky, not a perfect puree – if you have a small food processor you might have to do this in batches).

Transfer the mixture to a large bowl and add the coconut cream, arrowroot or tapioca flour, almond meal and the extra hemp and sunflower seeds. Mix everything together with a spoon until evenly combined. The mixture should be really moist; if not, add a splash of water.

Heat a barbecue grill plate to medium–low or place a chargrill pan over medium–low heat. Lightly grease with olive oil.

Divide the hemp mixture into four even-sized portions and shape into patties.

Cook for 8–10 minutes on each side, or until nicely charred and cooked through. (Take care when turning the patties over – they hold together well, but you can’t be rough with them either.)

To serve, pile a handful of lettuce leaves one inside the other to create a lettuce ‘cup’. Repeat to make four cups. Pack each cup with the tomato and avocado, then top with a patty and some cucumber ribbons. Finish with a generous dollop of mayo and some extra salt and pepper. Get stuck in.

Eat More Vegan by Luke Hines, Published by Plum, RRP $39.99, Photography by Mark Ropper