I’m a huge Glee fan.  All it took was watching the commercial before the pilot aired to hook me.  Maybe I connect with this show because I was a glee club member in junior high and high school, and I get it.  We were truly the geeks of the school, but it was a place to create harmony during a time of dissonance, a place to belong, and a way to have a voice during a time where shy girls were but a whisper in the din.

Now, I do have one bone to pick with the creators of Glee.  The cast is hardly representative of the average glee club members.  Our glee club was made up of cute little nerdy girls and the geekiest guys you could imagine.  We didn’t have boys that remotely resembled Finn, Puck, or the new Macaulay Culkin look-alike, Sam.  Come on.  Seriously?  We tried really hard to recruit the cooler guys, but there was no way they would even consider tarnishing their reputations to join our ranks.  Finn, Puck, and Sam are definitely a TV land fantasy, but I love Glee nonetheless.

While mashups have been popular for a while now, this Gleek became a fan instantly with Glee’s mashup of Halo and Walking on Sunshine.  Yes, this is a food blog and not a pop-culture or music blog, but I do have a point here.  Mashups work, even with burgers.

Try this Sweet Potato Black Bean Quinoa Burger.  Sweet potatoes are one of my favorite fall flavors, but they can’t make a burger on their own.  Potato pancakes or fries, yes.  But not burgers.   I LOVE black bean burgers and anything made with black beans, for that matter.  Maybe it’s my southern California roots; make me a salad, frijoles negroes con queso, or a wrap with black beans, and I’m a happy girl.  But black beans on their own does not a burger make.  I eat quinoa daily…cereal, salads, you name it.  I’m addicted to that high-protein, nutty grain.  So why not try a burger mashup of three of my favorites?

Sweet Potato Black Bean Quinoa Burgers

by Heather

Ingredients:

• 1 c. quinoa, soaked and rinsed
• 1 14-oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained
• ½ medium sweet potato mashed
• ½ c. red onion, finely minced
• ½ c. shredded carrots
• ¼ c. fresh cilantro, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 jalepeno pepper, seeded and diced
• 2 T. grapeseed oil
• ½ T. balsamic vinegar
• 2 T. tomato paste
• 1/3 c. gluten-free bread crumbs
• 1 tsp. sea salt
• ½ tsp. chili powder
• ½ tsp. cumin
• ¼ tsp. pepper

Directions:

1.  Soak the quinoa in water for 15 minutes, drain, and rinse to wash away the bitterness of the saponin.

2.  Bring the quinoa to a boil in 2 cups of salted water in a sauce pan.  Reduce the heat, lid, and simmer on low for 15 minutes.  Remove from heat for 5 minutes with the lid in place.  Then remove the lid, fluff with a fork, and cool.

3.  Combine all remaining ingredients except the bread crumbs and 1 T. of the grapeseed oil in the food processor and puree until smooth.

4.  Then stir in the bread crumbs until the mixture is sticky and holds together, and divide it into 6 patties.

5.  Preheat grill to high heat, and lightly oil a sheet of aluminum foil with 1 T. grapeseed oil.  Turn the grill down to medium heat, place the patties on the greased foil, and grill them for about 6 minutes on each side.

Now that’s a mashup worth singing about!  Enjoy.

This recipe is linked to:

• Seasonal Sundays hosted by Brittany at Real Sustenance
• Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays by Amy of Simply Sugar & Gluten-Free