This Earth-friendly burger is made of edamame (a high protein soybean) and millet, a grain that also happens to be gluten free. So, this burger is both vegetarian- and celiac-friendly, and is nutrient-dense enough to satisfy everyone.
Most burgers are made of beef, a high-carbon food because it comes from cattle. Cows produce methane, a greenhouse gas that is accelerating climate change even faster than CO2 – and the Midwest drought has also driven up the price of grains needed to feed cows. Today is Earth Day and we're featuring some delicious low carbon footprint recipes from Bon Appétit Management Company, food services for a sustainable future®. Try this delicious and good for you burger recipe in celebration of Earth Day and the 6th annual Low Carbon Diet Day!
Edamame Burgers with Sumac-Spiced Carrot Curls
12 servings
3/4 cup millet
1 1/2 cups cold water
2 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt
3 carrots, with peels saved aside
3 radishes
6 teaspoons fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated 1 1/2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
6 tablespoons fresh lime juice
6 tablespoons Mirin (Japanese rice wine)
3/8 teaspoon chili paste, such as Sriracha
3 pounds frozen edamame, shelled and thawed
4 1/2 cups breadcrumbs (or panko)
2 tablespoons sumac (a Middle Eastern spice)
Vegetable oil, for brushing
Over medium heat, cook millet in a small, dry saucepan. Cook, shaking saucepan occasionally, until the millet begins to “pop” (about 2 minutes) and smells like popcorn. Let cool.
Add water and 1/4 teaspoon of the salt to the saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to a simmer, cover, and cook for 20 minutes.
Remove from the heat (don't uncover) and set aside for 10 minutes. Fluff the millet.
Grate the carrots and radishes into the millet. Add the ginger, garlic, lime juice, Mirin, and chili paste, and stir to combine.
Blanch edamame for 5 minutes in boiling water. Transfer to an ice bath, drain, and add to the bowl of a food processor with 2 teaspoons salt. Purée into a paste, and then add edamame paste to millet mixture. Stir in breadcrumbs.
Form the millet-edamame mixture into 24 4-ounce patties. Put formed patties in refrigerator to set for 20 minutes.
Brush both sides of the patties lightly with oil and sprinkle with salt. Cook on grill for 3 minutes on each side, or until brown.
For sumac carrot peels, wash about 8 oz of carrot peels, toss with oil, and sprinkle 2 tablespoons sumac. Bake in a 350°F oven for 10 minutes. Top edamame patties with carrot peels and serve.
Chef’s Notes:
The edamame burger illustrates several of Bon Appétit’s Low Carbon Diet principles.
- This burger has a kind of unusual savory topping — carrot peels baked with a Middle Eastern spice called sumac. This speaks to our Low Carbon Diet Day Tip #1: You Bought It, You Eat It – Don’t Waste Food. Washed, there is no reason not to eat carrot peels. They’re a little bit tougher than the tender insides, but we can take care of that by baking them for 10 minutes, like we’ve done for our burger topping.
More than 4.5 million tons of food is wasted every year in the U.S. – about 25% of edible food. When you waste food, you waste the energy used to grow, transport and cook it. In landfills, food waste releases methane gas, a highly potent greenhouse gas. Buy and prepare only the food you expect to eat. If you don’t finish it all in one sitting, save the leftovers.
And not only that, but carrot peels on your edamame burger are also planet-friendlier than an out-of-season tomato that probably came from far away...and won’t have nearly the amount of flavor!
Editorial disclosure: Foodista received no payment for this post.
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