Ingredients:
- 1 small sweet potato (or at least ¼ cup of canned sweet potato puree)
- 6 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 Portobello mushroom
- ½ small zucchini
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 cup cooked quinoa (plus about ½ a cup uncooked)
- ¾ cup dried breadcrumbs
- 1½ teaspoons fresh lemon juice
- Black pepper and kosher salt to taste
Preheat oven to 350⁰F to cook the sweet potato. Puncture the sweet potato with a fork and rub with oil before cooking until tender (at least 30 minutes). You could also skip this step by buying pureed sweet potato to use as a binder.
Pulse mushrooms in a food processor (without the stems) until the are finely chopped. Grate the zucchini and drain of excess liquid using a paper towel.
Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a skillet over low heat. Add red pepper flakes, mushrooms, and zucchini until they have released their liquid, but before they start to brown (about 2 minutes).
Transfer the vegetables to a large bowl and mix in the quinoa, seasoning with salt and pepper as needed.
Add the breadcrumbs, lemon juice, and ¼ cup of sweet potato puree, mixing well. Add more sweet potato if needed and add salt and pepper to taste.
Divide the mixture into patties, firmly pressing them together.
Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a skillet over medium heat and cook the patties two at a time, cooking for about 2 minutes on each side or until golden brown.
Top final product with sautéed vegetables of your choice, sauce, or use them to build a burger.