Pumpkin & Pomegranate

HEAB once again has inspired me. I saw the burgers she blogged about and I hate to Marissify them so I could enjoy them. Many of them.

Enjoy them I did. I know it sounds a tad weird, but they remind me of crab cakes. Not so much that they taste like crab, but the ingredients I used were taken from a recipe for my favorite crab cakes, so these remind me of those. I can’t say these are better than the beetballs, and Matt couldn’t either. We just think they are different. Definitely a good addition to the repertoire.

I made them into small patties (thus the slider) mainly to cut down on baking time, so just add a little extra time in the oven if you want to make burgers.

The burgers that Heather recommended had cashews in them. I thought about replicating them but I did a little research and found out that sunflower seeds are more nutritious than cashews. Why mess with a good thing? Well i might eventually mess with a good thing, if for no other reason than to taste the difference, but this week I just went with the seeds. Plus, they are much less expensive. About 1/4 to 1/5 the price of cashews.  I am trying to be thrifty so every little bit counts!

I tried mine with 2 toppers, and one plain. I did one with tahini (I do not recommend this) and one with hummus (too overpowering). My preference is plain, though I think mayo would have been lovely. Matt liked his with Vegenaise and avocado. I did try another with just some avocado, but it just reminded me that I don’t like the taste or texture of plain avocado. Sad!

I served the arti-sliders with a salad made of lettuce, escarole, navel oranges, and golden beets. Dressed with just a little olive oil and apple cider vinegar.

Artichoke Sliders

Ingredients:

• 2 C. Raw Sunflower Seeds
• 1/2 C. Raw Pine Nuts
• 1 Large Yellow Tomato
• 1 4 oz. Can Green Chilies
• 1.5 tsp. Sea Salt
• 3 Garlic Cloves, Minced
• 1/2 tsp. Thyme
• 1 C. Grated Carrots
• 1 C. Chopped Artichoke Hearts
• 1 Leek, chopped
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1/4 C.  Chopped Sun Dried Tomatoes

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 400° F.
2. Process the sunflower seeds in  the food processor until finely ground.
3. Add the tomato, salt, garlic, thyme and pine nuts to the sunflower seeds and process until fully combined.
4. In a bowl, combine the sunflower seed mixture with the grated carrots, set aside.
5. Sautée the chopped leek in some extra virgin olive oil until softened. Add to the burger mixture along with the chopped sun dried tomatoes.
6. Form into patties using 1/4 C. of the mixture. Bake on greased cookie sheet for 15 minutes, flip, then bake for another 15 minutes.