Quinoa Burger with Sweet Potato Fries

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180°C.
2. Prick 3 small sweet potatoes all over with a fork. Place them on baking tray then brush lightly with oil and season with salt and black pepper.
3. Peel 4 – 5 sweet potatoes and slice them into rough slices (like thick French fries). Place the sweet potato slices in a bowl and season with some oil, salt and black pepper. Toss to coat them well before pouring them onto a baking tray. Sprinkle some rosemary on top.
4. Bake both batches of sweet potatoes simultaneously in the oven for about 30 – 45 mins.
5. While waiting for the sweet potatoes to cook in the oven, let’s prepare the other ingredients.
6. Cook the quinoa with water and ½ tsp salt for 15 – 20 minutes or according to the package instruction. Once cooked, set it aside to cool down.
7. Cube the mushrooms and chop the shallots.
8. Then grate the zucchini and squeeze them dry with a paper towel to remove excess water.
   Note: This is to avoid the patties from being too soggy and reduce the cooking time
9. On low heat, cook the chopped shallots and red pepper flakes. Cook until the shallots are soft before adding in the cubed mushrooms and grated zucchini. Cook until the liquid in the mixture has dried up. Set the mixture aside to cool down.
10. Remove the 3 small sweet potatoes, remove the skin and mash the flesh with a fork. Set it aside to cool down before making the patties.
11. Once the sweet potato mash is cool to the touch, add half of it into a large bowl together with the cooked quinoa, vegetable mixture, dried breadcrumbs and lemon juice. Mix with your hands to combine well.
    Note: If mixture is too loose, add more sweet potato mash to bind.
12. Once the mixture is dense enough, divide it into 4 portions and form them into patties by pressing firmly together with your hands.
    Note: You can even make the patties up to 3 days ahead of time, just cover and chill them in the fridge.
13. Heat 2 tbsp of oil over medium heat and pan-fry the both sides of the patties until they are golden brown. Then toast the English muffins that will be used as the burger buns.
14. When you’re ready to assemble the burger, remove the sweet potato fries from the oven.
    Note: Do monitor the fries as they may need to be remove from the oven much earlier depending on the size and thickness of the slices.
15. Build the burger by starting with one half of English muffin at the bottom. Place the patty on top and top with a generous spread of guacamole, alfalfa sprouts, sundried tomatoes before covering with the other half of the English muffin.
16. Serve alongside with the sweet potato fries and some salad.
17. Enjoy!