My Valentine to You: Spicy Red Humus + A Raw Beet-Lentil Burger

It’s my first Valentine’s Day as a vegan!

Flowers and candy today?  Nope, my poor husband is going to have surgery on his broken leg. (If you want the gory details of his running-related injury, read Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3 on his blog.)

So we enjoyed Valentine’s Day eats on Sunday.

To start, a new (red) humus recipe served on crackers and red peppers.  I followed Kristen Suzanne’s EASY Raw Vegan Dehydrating cracker formula, using chia, flax and sesame seeds with paprika and sweet basil (should have used some salt, too).

This humus is incredible.  (Is that bragging?)

JL’s Spicy Red Humus
Makes 2 cups (approximately)

INGREDIENTS

*2 c kidney beans, cooked (I soaked the beans over night with a Kombu strip and then cooked them in the pressure cooker with 2 cloves of garlic, 1T olive oil and a bay leaf)
*1/2 cup sun-dried tomato (soaked for 1 hour), diced
*1 jalapeno, seeded and diced
*6 or so jalapeno seeds
* 3 cloves of garlic, minced
*Juice of half a lime
*1/2 t taco seasoning
*1/4 cup of olive oil + 2 T olive oil
*1/2 t sea salt (to taste)

METHOD

Place all ingredients, except the olive oil and sea salt, in the food processor (use S blade).  Begin pulsing the ingredients, adding olive oil from the top until you reach desired consistency (I began with 1/4 cup and needed two more tablespoons).  Salt to taste.

Sticking with the red Valentine’s Day theme, I made a raw (dehydrated), red burger for dinner.

I served this burger on Ani Phyo’s Rye Flatbread with an adaptation of this Sprouted Lentil Spread. I topped the burger off with Kristen Suzanne’s Fun Leeks (my dehydrator was busy this weekend!) which are crazy delicious! Remember French’s French Fried Onions? Think those, only (more) amazing—and they store great in a small, glass jar in the refrigerator as they stay super-crispy.

JL’s Raw Beet-Lentil Burger
Makes 6 burgers

INGREDIENTS

*1/2 c sprouted lentils, rinsed
*1/2 c red onion, chopped
*1 c beets, washed, peeled and diced
*1/2 cup carrot, diced
*1 medium shallot, diced
*1 t sweet basil (dry)
*1 t ground coriander
*1/2 t celery salt
*1/2 t sea salt
*1 cup sunflower seeds
*3/4 cup flaxseed, ground (I used golden)
*1/2 cup filtered water (start with less until reach desired consistency)

METHOD

Place all ingredients in food processor (use S blade) and pulse until desired consistency (slowing adding water as needed).  You want some hearty chunks in the burger, but enough moisture and processing that the burger binds. Make a palm-size burger and press into a patty on the dehydrator tray (use the screen only, not the Paraflexx sheet).  Dehydrate on 104 for 4 – 6 hours (flip at half-way point).

Love this burger!  Love the consistency, loved the texture.  Even if you’re not a huge beet fan, I suggest you try it. It’s actually not really beet-y in flavor at all. And I was delighted to find another use for my first-ever sprouted lentils!

What vegan Valentine’s Day treats are you enjoying today?

Tagged as: dehydrated bread, dehydrated burger, dehydrated crackers, humus, raw beet-lentil burger, spicy red humus, vegan valentine