So many things have happened in the past few weeks, that I don’t quite know where to start from. I will dedicate a separate post to all this soon, but this crazy and exciting time has been the reason why I haven’t been very active on the blog lately.

We managed to escape on a small holiday to Barcelona and Ibiza a few weeks ago, and the time we spent there was so relaxing and needed, for me to fully process and absorb everything that is going on in my life. I am feeling really grateful for how my life is unfolding and took this time to savour all the good things in my life.

I was pleasantly surprised to find so many healthy and vegetarian places in Ibiza, we ate really good food during the entire holiday that got me even more inspired to experiment with recipes and cook! We visited a restaurant in Ibiza, called Aubergine where I had one of the best beetroot burgers so far (not to mention the sweet potato fries)! It was really flavourful with a good consistency and just looked so pretty!

So I asked the waitress what ingredients they used to make the burger. She told me the patty was made with beetroot, quinoa and chia seeds – talking about a protein-packed burger! As soon as we came back home I was in the kitchen trying to recreate this burger. I like the flavour and colour of it, the consistency is a bit jelly, but the burger does stick together. Try it out for yourself and tell me what you think! Here is what you will need:

Ingredients (makes about 6-7 patties) 

• 2 cooked beets
• 1 cup of cooked quinoa (cooked with 1,5 cups of vegetable stock)
• 3 tbsp chia seeds
• 1 red onion, sliced in small cubes
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp coriander
• 1 tsp mustard
• 1 tsp chilli flakes
• 1/2 barbecue spice mix
• 1/2 slice of wholewheat bread, in crumbles
• salt and pepper

Method: 

1. Cook the quinoa in the vegetable stock until soft and fluffy. Set aside.
2. Put the chia seeds in a small bowl and cover them with water. Mix well and set them aside. They will absorb all the water and form a gel.
3. Chop the cooked beets and place them in a food processor. Blend well until you get a pasty texture.
4. In a big bowl place the cooked quinoa, beetroot paste, the chia gel and the rest of the ingredients. Mix very well using a spoon.
5. With your clean hands start forming patties.
6. Heat up a pan with some oil just to cover the bottom! If you put too much oil the patties won’t fry right, as they will just sit on the oil absorbing it. You want the patties to get a little brown on the outside. Fry for about 4 minutes on each side.

To assemble your burger, slice your burger bun in half and add some cashew sauce, lettuce, the burger patty, avocado, tomato and some micro greens.

Enjoy!