Gluten Free Green Hemp Millet Burgers

Our friend, foodie, fashion designer and hemp advocate Aneta of Immortelle sent us this incredible Hemp Millet burger recipe perfect for long weekends!

Hemp adds a nutritionally packed punch and adds a creamy mouthfeel as millet tends to be on the dry side. Millet, it’s not a grain it is actually a seed. Try these patties in a sourdough bun, collard wrap or just crumbled over a salad. With the greens, herbs and seasoning feel free to use one of the greens (eg: just kale) or all of them. Same goes for the herbs and spices. Try other combinations like turmeric, ginger and cumin or cilantro and chipotle. As long as you have the core ingredients you can make these any flavour you’d like.

This recipe is vegan, gluten free, wheat free, bean free, grain free -- makes about 7 patties

1 cup dry millet
2 cups warm water
2-3 tbsp avocado or coconut oil
1 tbsp ground flax seed or psyllium husk powder
1/2 cup Together Hemp Natural hemp hearts
a combination of or just one: 2-3 kale leaves, 2-3 collard green leaves, 1 large swiss chard leaf
small handful cilantro or parsley, fresh
2 tbsp fresh thyme, finely chopped
2 tbsp fresh sage, finely chopped
1 tsp tapioca starch or arrowroot powder
1-2 tsp Himalayan pink salt, to your taste
2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp ground mustard
1/2-1 tsp smoked paprika powder
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
 

In a heavy bottom pot heat up millet in a dry hot pan, toasting the seeds until they start to brown and become fragrant. Add oil and sautee a few more minutes. Add the water and bring to a boil - I use warm or boiling water when I add to a hot pot to not damage the pot. Add a pinch of salt and bay leaf if you’d like, cover the pot and over a medium-high heat, bring it to a boil. Once boiling reduce the heat and let it simmer for about 20 minutes or until the liquid is absorbed, lid on. You can also make it in an instant pot: 9 minutes high pressure, manual release.

While the millet is cooking preheat the oven to 375º and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Chop up all the greens and herbs. When the millet is done turn off the heat, add your greens and herbs to the pot giving it a good stir then put the lid on and and let the residual steam wilt the greens. Add the hemp, spices and seasonings and mix well in the pot.

Put 2/3 of the mixture it in a food processor or blender (reserve the other 1/3 of the millet mixture). Pulse the mixture until it softens up a bit but doesn't turn into complete mush. It needs to resemble a chunky thick paste - this will help the patties stay together in one piece. Now combine this with the 1/3 reserved cooked millet, I like to keep some of the millet whole as it adds a nice crunch when its baked. Create patties with clean hands to the size that you prefer, pack them as tight as possible -- I use a pancake/egg ring to form patties so they're all uniform - it also helps pack them nice and tight and keeps them from falling apart. The tighter you can pack the patty, the better. Place on baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes or until they look toasted. Leave patties to cool for about 10-15 minutes as this will help them keep shape when picking up to build your burgers.

These patties taste amazing served with sliced kosher dill pickles, avocado, mayo, fresh crisp romaine, full grain mustard and pink pickled onions. They’re especially delicious in collard green wraps. They also hold up well after freezing, just separate each patty with a piece of parchment paper and cool completely before freezing. Enjoy!