Broccoli Burgers
Melon and Almond Soup
(recipe below)
Trying out a couple of new dishes tonight -- the burgers (a.k.a. "Lower East Side Burgers") are adapted from Renee Loux Underkoffler's "Living Cuisine." It's a mix of pumpkin and sunflower seeds with broccoli, fennel seed, oregano, olive oil, sea salt and pepper ground in the Vita-Mix and dehydrated for six hours at 105F.
The issue we have with most burger recipes is that the patties are way too big to start with -- usually around 1/2 to 1 cup of filling per burger -- which is why they take forever to dehydrate, up to 20+ hours in some cases.
That's why we use the ring mold and go with a 1/4 to 1/3 cup per patty. It cuts down on the dehydrating time and you don't get that feeling like you'll never be able to finish. Plus the texture is more consistent from the first bite to the last and from burger to burger.
The soup is a cool, refreshing hit for summer...
Melon and Almond Soup
1/2 cup almonds soaked in water for 2 hours
1 1/2 cups of water
2 cups of melon, roughly chopped
1 tbs. lime juice
1 tbs. raw agave
1 tsp. salt
Drain the almonds and add to a high speed blender or vita-mix, along with 1 1/2 cups of water and process to a creamy consistency.
Strain the mixture through a medium sieve or chinois to remove any large chunks of almond. Add the almond mixture back to the blender along with the melon, lime juice, agave and salt. Process again until creamy. Check for seasonings and serve chilled.
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