My Veggie Burger is Bleeding!!!!!

Ok its not really bleeding, but it is pink and juicy.  All things a burger should be, if it has meat in it.  But this, my friend, is a pink and juicy veggie burger that you can really sink your teeth into.  Behold, "Best-Ever Veggie Burgers from Northstar Cafe".  I made a few alterations, if only because I was having a difficult day in the kitchen - I was out of a few things, forgot a few things and I was pretty much burning everything.  Even so these turned out really good, though they were a bit time consuming.  I was worried they might be too sweet because of the beets, but they weren't.  They were just plain delicious.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup basmati rice
• 1 white onion, diced small
• 1 pound of beets, diced small
• 2 tablespoons cider vinegar
• 1 can black beans, mashed with a fork
• juice from half a lemon
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tbsp fresh parsley, minced
• 2 tbsp fresh mint, minced
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1/2 tsp thyme
• 2 tbsp all purpose flour
• salt and pepper to taste

Start by dicing your onions and beets.  Maybe I'm not that good with a knife but dicing beets was a pain - just so you know.  Next add a bit of olive oil to a pot over medium heat, and throw in your onions, cooking them until they're soft.  Add your beets to this pot, covering it and cooking it until tender.  While this is happening throw your rice in a pot and boil it.  Basmati rice only takes 12 minutes so that's easy.  The beets take awhile to get tender - make sure you stir it every so often so they don't burn.  I got lazy and burnt mine a bit.  The recipe calls for 3-4 cloves of garlic at this point, however, I forgot to add garlic.  Silly me.  Then Deglaze your pan with 2 tbsp cider vinegar.

Combine your mashed beans, rice, and beets in a large bowl.  Add juice from half a lemon, 1 tbsp olive oil, 2 tbsp parsley, 2 tbsp mint, 1 tsp coriander, 1/2 tsp thyme, 2 tbsp flour, and salt and pepper to taste.  (Note : I forgot to add flour at first, and they totally fell apart when I tried to cook them!)

Next heat a skillet over high heat, and add enough olive oil to coat the bottom of the pan.  Form the mixture into small patties and place in pan.

It'll take about two minutes on each side.  After you flip it you may want to add some cheese so it'll get all gooey and melty.

Put it between two slices of bread, or preferably a bun if you have one.

Be ready for a veggie burger taste explosion in your mouth because this is not your average meat substitute.