Black bean beet burgers on bannock. Say that 3 times fast!
There’s nothing like a holiday to experiment with new recipes in the kitchen plus the downtime a holiday weekend affords one to do so. This year I went savoury and made beet black bean burgers served on bannock for Canada Day. I served them with a side of store-bought red and white potato chips. (See featured image.) The excessive lingonberry jam I still had from class came in handy too for a quick bbq sauce to slather on top.
Fresh beets are easy to find this time of year and black beans are a great nutrient rich source of plant-based protein ideal in veggie burgers. But bannock is what gives this burger a unique twist and makes it holiday worthy.
Bannock is a quick bread often cited as a ‘traditional’ food amongst Indigenous peoples in Canada. I’ve had it at the Elbow River Camp (formerly Indian village) at the Calgary Stampede and in Stanley Park, Vancouver as part of a celebration of Indigenous peoples in BC. There are various recipes and ingredients for this bread and the origins of the type of bannock I’ve had (wheat-based and fried) are not unanimously agreed upon. Here’s my take on bannock:
Mix 1 cup spelt flour and ½ cup each of whole wheat pastry flour and unbleached white flour, 1 tablespoon baking powder and ¼ teaspoon salt. Add ½ cup each water and plant-based milk and mix until combined. Heat oil in a pan, enough to cover the bottom and form a very shallow puddle. Scoop rounds into pan and flatten. Cook about 4-5 minutes per side. The baking powder will cause the bannock to puff up and be easily split in half. If you notice the bread is still a little doughy, then place split halves in oven at 350ºF for a few minutes.
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Bannock and Canada’s First Peoples
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Great post 🙂