Delicious Superfood - Smokey Sweet Potato Burgers

My dad just turned 88 years young (the men in our family are long-lived).  We celebrated his birthday by treating him to a trip to his favorite restaurant--one of those buffet-style restaurants.  As we sampled all kinds of delicious foods, trying to save room for a bit of everything, we laughed and visited.  Several of my sibling / in-laws came as well as one of my nieces, Rebecca.  We got chatting about my blog and, since we had food on the brain (and on the table), some of the recipes I'd posted.   I had recently put up a recipe I made up for a delicious veggie-burger made with black beans and mushrooms, and that inspired Rebecca to tell me about a wonderful veggie-burger she had found at a recipe blog called How Sweet It Is made with sweet potatoes and something called smoked paprika (it's a Spanish paprika  called Pimentón de la Vera and it has a distinct smokey flavor and aroma because it is dried by smoking, typically using oak wood).

I was intrigued and ran home to look it up.  What I present here is slightly modified to make it a vegan burger (we served it for Sunday dinner and our daughter-in-law is vegan), but still quite true to the original.  Thanks to Jessica at How Sweet It Is  for the original recipe.  This burger is a beautiful orange color and looks fantastic on a bun.  Better yet it has a nice bite and a smokey tang that make it taste as good as it looks.  Finally, it turns out that it's really good for you!  We've had several meals with them and tried many different toppings--all the combinations have been wonderful.

Nearly every ingredient in these burgers provides wonderful health benefits.  Here are a few examples:

• Sweet Potatoes - double the fiber of other potatoes, filled with vitamin B6 and potassium--critical to heart health, rich in antioxidants to prevent cancer, great source of manganese which regulates blood sugar and reduces anemia, full of vitamins C and E for disease prevention and longevity.
• Oats - high in soluble fiber to prevent heart disease and diabetes, also lowers bad cholesterol
• Navy Beans - good source of protein, zinc and iron, nutrients commonly found in meat, fish and poultry making it a healthy meat alternative.  High in fiber, low on the glycemic index, and full of vitamins and minerals.
• Garlic - reduces high blood pressure, “hardening of the arteries” (atherosclerosis), and risk of cancer.  You can even avoid tick bites and fungal infections of the skin.
• Paprika - paprika peppers have 6 times the vitamin C of tomatoes.  The high vitamin C content help you absorb iron-rich foods and may help your body fight common infections.

Here's how to make these delicious nutritious Smokey Sweet Potato Burgers:

Let's start with the beans -

• 3 cups White Beans (can use Navy, Great Northern, or Cannellini) - dried
• 9 cups Water
• 1 small Onion
• Salt to taste

Put all of these in a slow-cooker and cook on low for 8 hours (works nicely over night).  The yield here is way more than you'll need for the veggie-burger recipe, but if you're going to the trouble to slow-cook beans you may as well make a bunch and use them in soups, with rice, or with warm bread.

Here's how to make the burgers -

• 2 cups Sweet Potatoes or Yams - about 2 large potatoes coarsely mashed 
• 1 cup White Beans - rinsed and drained
• 2 cloves Garlic - minced
• 1/3 cup Bread Crumbs - toast a few slices of bread and blend into crumbs
• 1/3 cup Oat Flour - blend some oatmeal into flour
• 1 large Egg - lightly beaten (simply skip this for the vegan version)
• 1 1/2 tsp Smoked Paprika (this has become my new favorite spice--I bought it cheaply in the bulk spice section of Winco--I love the smell and flavor and I'm putting it in everything)
• 1 tsp Onion Powder
• 1 tsp Salt
• 1/2 tsp Pepper
• 1/8 tsp Cumin
• 2 Tbsp Olive Oil
• 4 Hamburger Buns - these are best freshly homemade and warm

Pierce potatoes (I used 2 large) all over with a fork and place on a paper towel, setting in the microwave. Microwave for 5 minutes, then flip and cook for 5 minutes more. Remove, slice in half and let cool until you can scoop out the flesh.

In a large bowl, coarsely mash beans with a fork. Add in sweet potato and mash together, then add in spices, salt and pepper, minced garlic, egg, bread crumbs, and oat flour. Mix together until combined, then place bowl in the fridge for 15-20 minutes. This helps form them into patties, but as a warning they are still somewhat messy.

Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add some olive oil. Remove mixture from fridge and drop onto the skilled into large canning jar rings to form 4 patties. Since the mixture can be wet and messy, do not move until they are fully cooked and golden on one side! This takes about 5-6 minutes. Then, add more oil if needed (this really helps cook them) and flip burgers very gently. Cook for another 5-6 minutes. Toast buns if desired.

Roasted Garlic Cream - (skip this for vegan version)

• 2/3 cup homemade Kefir Cheese, homemade Yogurt Cheese, or Sour Cream
• 1 tsp Maple Syrup
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• 2 bulbs Roasted Garlic

Combine yogurt/sour cream with 2 bulbs (squeezed out) of roasted garlic cloves, maple syrup and a sprinkle of salt and pepper in a blender or food processor. Process until smooth then set aside until ready to use.

Assemble by topping burgers with roasted garlic cream and avocado! We also used tomatoes, lettuce, and fresh alfalfa sprouts, and it was delicious.

Try these out.  They are beautiful, delicious, and very good for you!