It’s rare that I make a recipe more than once or twice. It’s not that I don’t enjoy the things I make, I just enjoy the thrill of experimenting with new recipes far more than relying on the tried and true. Call me risky.
Since as far back as I can remember, I’ve enjoyed trying out new recipe ideas, enjoying the fruits of my labor and then moving on to another. Perhaps this is what intrigues me the most about sharing my kitchen explorations with all of you – now I can say it’s my JOB to be this way 
There are very few recipes that have stuck around with me through the years. So few, that I can list them all right here without feeling too spammy…
- basil limeade. We go through so much of it during the summer!
- bacon wrapped figs. Need I say more?
- vegan breakfast pudding. It’s a young recipe, but I can tell you with 100% certainty that it’ll be around forever.
- gluten-free naan. I make a fresh batch every 2 weeks.
- vanilla almond flax butter. Which we talked about yesterday
While I’ve made a ton of Indian food since my trip, there was one recipe that I ate, enjoyed, and learned how to make in India that really, really stuck with me… biryani. There’s just something so nourishing about dousing cooked grains in loads of spices and calling it a meal.
Biryani is versatile, too. In the 4 months I’ve been back; ya, it’s seriously been four months, I’ve come up with at least 10 ways to use biryani in various recipes. Let’s start with one of my favorites so far…
biryani inspired burgers, vegan style.
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- ½ cup raw quinoa
- 1 cup water
- 1 tbsp extra-virgin coconut oil
- 2 tsp fennel seed
- 2 tsp minced fresh ginger
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ cup diced red onion
- 1 tbsp curry leaves
- ¼ cup dried currants
- ¼ cup roughly ground sunflower kernels
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
- 2 tsp garam masala
- ½ tsp himalayan rock salt
- 2 tsp tumeric
- 2 tsp ground coriander
- 2 cups cooked chickpeas
- 1 flax egg – 1 tbsp freshly ground flax mixed with 2 tbsp warm water and allowed to sit for 5 minutes *see note
- Preheat oven to 350F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicon baking mat. Set aside.
- Combine quinoa and water in a small saucepan. Cover and cook on high heat until boiling, then reduce heat to low and simmer covered for 12 minutes. Once complete, remove from heat and keep covered for 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, place the next 6 ingredients in a medium frying pan and cook on medium-high heat for 5 minutes until onion is translucent.
- Add all ingredients – cooked quinoa, sauteed onions, and remaining ingredients to the bowl of your food processor. Pulse 4-6 times until everything is combined and broken down slightly.
- Shape mixture into burgers and bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 5-10 minutes so the patties hold together nicely.
- Serve sandwiched between a gluten-free burger bun, recipe below…
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Gluten-free Burger “Buns”
Allergens: Vegan, Gluten-free, Dairy-free, Sugar-free, Yeast-free, Corn-free, Nut-free
Yield: two – 8″ rounds Servings: 4
A yeast-free gluten-free burger “bun” recipe that’s made in one bowl and takes just minutes to prepare.
Ingredients
- 1 cup water
- 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/4 cup chickpea flour
- 3/4 cup white rice flour
- 2 tbsp ground flax seed
- 1/4 tsp Himalayan rock salt
Directions
- Preheat oven to 375F and line two 8-inch cake pans with parchment paper or coconut oil. Set aside.
- Combine water and coconut oil in a medium-sized bowl. Add dry ingredients one by one and stir until lumps are gone.
- Pour mixture into prepared pans and cook for 25-28 minutes. Remove from the pan, cut into 4 wedges and use as sandwich bread, burger buns, or pizza crust!
Notes
To make more bun-like, try pouring the mixture in 4-inch tart pans, large muffin tins, or use a cookie cutter on finished product to make large circles in the dough. The batter is very liquidy so it will need to be poured into something.
Although not exactly like a bun, I love the flavor of these burger wedge-things. Maybe I should have called it a burger wedge?
Wedge or bun aside, I made an extra batch last night and threw it on the pile of food we’re taking camping this weekend. All our gear is sitting by the door, including the newest issue of Clean Eating Magazine – reading material for the 4.5 hour drive ahead of us. Just a couple more hours of work until we make our way to Cypress Hills. Cannot wait to disconnect, recharge and toast marshmallows on the fire.
What are your weekend plans?
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{ 35 comments… read them below or add one }
ohh camping is on my bucket list this summer, have a BLAST!!! can’t wait to see pictures.
Mmmm I agree wholeheartedly on the biryani thing. It’s got to be one of the most warming, calming dishes ever! It sounds like you’ve got a great trip planned (and some good reading material… that’d be my choice too!) This weekend I’m off to Toronto for a friend’s birthday dinner, and other than that, hoping to just relax and unwind in the sunshine!
Have a good day Leanne!
Leanne, I love your recipe links & want to pin them, but for some reason, the actual photo, of say the Naan recipe, doesn’t come up…any ideas as to why? I keep track of all my to-make recipes through pinterest, so I’d love to be able to pin some of your older recommends.
I hope to spend most of my weekend in & out of the swimming pool w/ my kids. It’s finally warming up here & starting to feel more summer-like.
Hi Janae – are you trying the Gluten-free Naan 2.0 recipe? I just pressed the “pin-it” button under the post and it worked fine. Also dragged the link over to Pinterest with no issues. Hmm… or was it another recipe? Darn technology!
Spending the weekend with your family + swim time sounds lovely!
OMG, it’s a combination of my fav. flavors and spices -can’t wit to try this recipe.
I am “risky” as well in the kitchen. Though I do have some standby recipes I just love trying new ones – and the excitement of them working out! Most of the time…
Hope you have a great weekend! I am hoping to get in a pedicure, a few workouts, and some yoga classes. We have a big family BBQ on Monday! My family and I are also trying out a raw food restaurant in Toronto which I am looking forward to.
You’re right, that’s half of the fun – will it work, will it not, the suspense is exhilarating!
Have a lovely weekend, sounds like you have some great activities planned. Are you visiting Live Food Bar? If so, I’ve heard great things!
Thank you! We’re actually going to Raw Aura (just west of Toronto in Port Credit). Doug McNish used to be the chef there. I actually have never made it to Live! I will have to this summer – I’ve also heard fantastic things.
The flavor combination sounds amazing! Have fun on your camping trip! I’m looking forward to some fall camping this year!
I think I figured it out. When I click on the recipe link it takes me to a different page where when I try to pin the picture, I can’t. But I can pin from this page, even though the picture of the naan bread doesn’t show up.
I just found your blog today and am already head-over-heels in love with it! I’m on a total quinoa kick right now so I can’t wait to try these!
I’m happy you found me, Erica
Thanks for stopping in and saying hello. Quinoa is one of my favorites, so you’ll find a lot of it here!
Love both recipes,but especially the bun! Looks so versatile
aw have so much fun!! and those burgers look delicious!
Thanks for sharing your ‘go to’ recipes. I like the sound of the breakfast pudding and just blenderizing it all raw like that, but was wondering…is it okay to eat buckwheat or quinoa without cooking it first? I thought it made it hard to digest.
Hi Barb – quinoa and buckwheat are harder on your digestion when raw, yes, but millet and amaranth are fine. With budwig pudding it’s believed that fresh raw grains, in small doses, can assist in providing powerful nutrients when combined with all of the other ingredients. But, if it doesn’t resonate with you, the pudding is just as good without them!
Leanne,
Where do you get your curry leaves from?? Please tell me it’s online. I’ve been trying to find a source but my two local Indian markets don’t have them and the ones I ordered from an online spice site tasted awful!
yum! going to make these tonight!
I love that you used cinnamon in these! I just cooked savory with pumpkin pie spice and cinnamon and this is right up my alley!
Yum Leanne these look incredible! I have to try those burger “buns” too. I could use something like that in my life on a daily basis
Hope you have an amazing weekend. I am hoping to get some relaxing in, in between the design work I have, plus hubby and I are going to a meditation seminar on Sunday with Swami Ken. I can’t wait.
Right up my alley! Can’t wait to try these. Hope to share the link in my Burgers & Beer series! I love the white painted wooden table too! I need one of those as it reminds me of summer fun:)
Have fun camping!! Those burger-wedge-things will definitely come in handy
ahhhhh nice! the quinoa burgers, the flavors and the cute buns!
Have fun camping!! I can’t wait to go camping this summer. There’s nothing better! Are you going to do a post on the types of camping foods you are taking and cooking there? (Or maybe you already have one up on the blog somewhere!) Oh and I have a random ingredient question for you. I recently made a recipe using chipotle chilis in adobo sauce and have a bunch leftover. Do you ever use these or know of any good recipes utilizing them? Thanks a bunch, have fun!
These burgers sound so unique and delicious! Keep up the kitchen experiments
These sound great but I will have to use millet as I am allergic to quinoa! Yes it is true. I think that millet would be a good substitute, don’t you?
I’m allergic to quinoa too! I’m so sad, it’s my only allergy and of course it’s to one of the ‘perfect’ vegetarian sources of protein >.<
I love your spice photos. Very inviting.
This looks like a tasty burger bun! It seems like a spin off of socca. What is the purpose of all the oil? Can you use a combo of flax/chia meal and teff flour to replace the rice flour (make it more “whole grain”)?
These days, there are “light” 100 calorie, high fiber burger buns (full of gluten and other allergens). Is there any way to replicate them? Sometimes it seems like the gluten-free breads are so dense and have little fier.
Have you ever tried any of Julian Bakery gluten free bread? Or Sami’s Bakery bread?
Thanks!
I just added oil because I like it. I’m sure you can remove it and still have similar results. Not sure on the teff flour as I’ve only baked with a it a couple of times. If you try the substitutions I’d love to hear about what worked for you! You’re right, there are starting to be a lot of of gluten-free options but many just don’t stack up!
How is the texture on these? Would it benefit with some xanthan gum? Are they delicate/crumbly?
These look delicious. What do you recommend serving as a side dish with these burgers?
The texture is a-ok, no xanthum gum needed. I enjoyed it with a large salad. Chutney and maybe a chickpea salad or curry would be nice!
Looks awesome! I am totally trying this. Do they freeze well?
They freeze awesomely!
Made these buns several days ago, and they lasted no problems in the fridge – just popped them in the toaster oven before using for my burgers. Just finished the last pair. I used pea flour instead of chick pea – delicious but green!
I’ve never been one for the burger buns anyways, so these are perfect. Great texture, but not so much bread that it gets in the way.
Thanks, Leanne! This was exactly what my lentil burgers needed.