Torsten’s Beetroot Burger with Wild Garlic Pesto
As we spend more time self isolating ourselves and working to flatten the curve of COVID-19, learning to cook a new recipe is both an excellent distraction technique and an empowering activity. Our longest serving member of The Q Cafe Company, Chef Manager Torsten Schultz, has shared a delightful early spring recipe for you to try.
This beetroot burger utilises all important cupboard staples, in addition to wild garlic, which is abundant this time of year. Ensure you either get your wild garlic from a shop or you pick it with an experienced forager! If you can’t find any wild garlic, you can certainly replace the garlic with any soft herb you like!
You can use pre-cooked beetroot if you like. It creates a slightly different flavours and there’s no real need to roast it.
Ingredients
Pesto
- 100g wild garlic, or any soft herb you like
- 50ml extra virgin olive oil (or rapeseed)
- Juice of half lemon
- 1 tsp salt.
Burger
- 1 large fresh beetroot
- 2 tins butter beans
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1 tsp chilli powder
- Some chives, finely sliced.
- Breadcrumbs
- Salt & pepper
Method
Pesto
- Blitz all the ingredients in a blender until smooth, or to your preferred consistency.
Beetroot Burger
- Pre-heat the oven to 170°C.
- Peal the beetroot and cut into small chunks. Toss in olive or rapeseed oil, season with salt/pepper and roast in the oven for around 20 minutes or until soft. Allow to cool.
- Empty contents of butter beans into a colander and rinse with fresh water.
- Here’s where some fun for the kids come in!!
- In a big bowl, using your hands, and a bit of elbow grease, combine all the burger ingredients together. Shape into burger patties.
- Refrigerate for 20 minutes.
- Coat in some breadcrumbs before frying in a pan or baking in the oven.
- Serve with some sour cream or greek yoghurt and the pesto.
Kids Fun!
Have some sheets of paper nearby. After using your hands to combine all the ingredients your hands will most likely be stained red by the beetroot. The more beetroot you use in the recipe the redder your hands! So, to have a bit of fun, you can make hand paintings. Therefore, hopefully increasing your childrens’ curiosity in food and creativity. Just stay away from cream carpets!
