How to Make a Delicious Plant-Base Burger

The Cashew Burger

 Replacing processed foods and limiting consumption of meat can help prevent and even reverse diseases like diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease; diseases who often rear their heads later in life. Here at 50 and Rising, I love food and strive to incorporate plant-based options to increase the amount of nutrients my body absorbs. But eating mindfully doesn’t have to be bland or boring – you may even discover some delicious new foods to incorporate into your meal repertoire. That’s the beauty of today’s recipe: a gorgeous and delicious cashew burger that’s high in plant protein and flavour.

Eleanor is sharing her fun experiments in the kitchen with 50 and Rising. She’s a vegetarian who got a bored with what she finds in the supermarkets, so her kitchen has become a mini laboratory. She chose to work with the cashew fruit because of its lightness and taste. Cashew has a lot of fiber, which will leave you feeling satisfyingly full, without the sluggishness that comes with digesting meat-based burgers.

This cashew burger is made with cashew fruit pulp, no sugar, and cassava starch for binding. Cashew protein has its own oil, so you do not need to add oil to cook it! The texture is similar to a rice patty or mushrooms. It is a low-calorie, easy-to-digest, and deliciously substantial burger.

Photo by Lars Blankers on Unsplash

Eleanor’s cooking music

Blast some tunes while you cook and make the experience fun! Eleanor loves listening to music while she creates in the kitchen, and shared some of her latest music recommendations:

• I’m Moving On by Rascal Flatts (She wants to move onto exciting vegetarian food and is saying good-bye to the boring ones)
• I can’t take my eyes off of you by Gloria Gaynor (Keeps her eye on the stove and no burning!)

Photo by Eleanor Beaty

The Tasty Cashew Burger

Note: This is not made with cashew nuts!

·      125 grams of strained Cashew pulp (5 fresh Cashew chopped in a food processor and strained through a milk bag – set juice aside for dessert or a drink)

·      ½ a tsp of salt

·      1 tsp grated onions

·      A pinch of garlic powder

·      1 tsp of rice vinegar

·      A pinch of ground pepper

·      1 tbsp of chopped fresh parsley

Mix all the ingredients well with a fork, then add:

·      1 tsp of povilho doce (full)- Sweet Cassava flour or Tapioca flour

·      1 tsp of povilho azedo (measured) -Sour Cassava flour or Tapioca flour

Substitution for the Cassava or Tapioca flour

If you don’t have these two ingredients, you can use

1 tsp of arrowroot and one tsp of rice flour.

Mix well and divide into two patties. Allow them to sit for ten minutes before grilling them with a tiny bit of olive oil. Cashew has oil of its own so you only need a tiny amount of oil for the pan to avoid sticking.

About the Povilho or Cassava/ Tapioca

Povilho is a starch made from ground cassava root. The doce (sweet) is grated and dried while the sour is grated and allowed to ferment before it is dried.

The Doce will become a bit sticky, therefore binding, while the sour will act more like a flower that dries up the moisture.

Photo by Alex Kondratiev on Unsplash

Incorporating plant-based protein into your diet doesn’t have to be a chore – you can still have all your favourites with some minor substitutions. Share your creations, or ask us questions on Instagram and Facebook.

Marguerite

Main Photo by Anton Shuvalov on Unsplash

More about Eleanor: Meet Eleanor

Facebook 50andrising

Instagram 50andrising