Beets add nice color, moisture and flavor to a vegan burger. There are lots of beet burger recipes out there but this one dices and roasts the beets and then adds meaty garbanzos and chewy brown rice. I have canned garbanzos in this recipe but of course you can soak and cook your own beforehand.
Cook brown rice to make 1 C. or use leftovers.
Trim and dice beets to make 4 C. You don’t need to peel them.
Arrange the beets on a baking sheet in a single layer and drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and then mix.
Roast in the oven at 400 until they are brown on one side, then stir to turn them. Cook another 10-15 minutes until they are tender. Allow to cool.
While the beets are cooking, mince 1 clove of garlic and finely chop onion to make 1/4 C.
Add the cooled beets, the cooked rice and one 15 oz can of garbanzos to a food processor along with the onions and garlic, 1 T. balsamic vinegar, 1 t. fresh thyme leaves along with 1/2 t. salt and 1/4 t. black pepper. Puree 15-30 seconds, just enough to combine. You don’t want a paste.
Make 6-8 patties with your hands and then place on a sheet of waxed paper and refrigerate for at least half an hour (makes cooking them easier).
Heat oil in a frying pan or skillet and cook the burgers until nicely browned.