zucchini burgers

Lately I have been getting fresh and organic summer squashes from my local CSA share. Normally I would cut them up and grill them with some potatoes or shave them into raw noodles. I had been ignoring them so they were starting to pile up in my crisper.

I recently came across a recipe for Tastier Eggplant Burgers from Mama Pea of the wildly popular vegan blog and cookbook titled Peas and Thank You. I had similar issues with eggplant as Mama Pea describes and test-drove her recipe with an eggplant that was hanging out in my fridge for over a week. It was delicious and the kids loved it. I used her recipe as inspiration for these zucchini burgers in an effort to get more of these goodies into the kids. The results were excellent. Jacob ate his burger, and I mashed one up for Talia and got more in her mouth then the dogs did.

I found another way to love these pretty little squash; this is how they came together.

Makes 6-8 burgers

Ingredients

• 4 zucchini squash of any color cut into 1-inch cubes
• canola or coconut oil to coat
• ½ cup quick oats
• ½ cup daiya shreds (I used mozzarella flavor)
• ¼ cup fresh chopped basil
• 2 tbsp. raw macadamia nut butter
• 1 tbsp. dijon mustard
• 1 tbsp. minced garlic
• Gluten-free, dairy-free burger buns

Directions

1. Preheat grill or skillet (I used the BBQ)
2. Toss just enough canola or coconut oil with squash to coat and grill until crisp-tender.
3. Remove from the grill and allow to cool about 10 minutes
4. Add remaining ingredients and mix well with a spoon or a fork, mashing the squash as you go along, or use your hands
5. Put mixture in the fridge for 10-20 minutes then form into patties using your hands
6. Lightly oil a skillet and carefully fry patties until browned on each side (5-10 minutes a side)
7. Toast some gluten-free buns or use collard greens, cabbage or other sturdy lettuce as a bun, add your favorite burger toppings and enjoy

 

I topped these burgers with some fresh sliced tomato, red onion, red hummus, homemade ketchup and hot dijon mustard. These burgers were melt-in-your-mouth delicious.