Kale Burgers

I don't know about you, but I've had it up to my eyeballs with kale. I get it weekly in my organic food co-op box and frankly, eight months in, I'm sick of it. I've steamed it, sauteed it, served it raw, dehydrated it, juiced it, blended it, and baked it. I was officially going mental- yes, the kale was making me crazy. How much kale can one person eat? But then, by sheer miracle, I landed on a recipe that took kale and spun it in a completely different direction. Meet: The Kale Burger! And because I was so impressed with this oddity I am passing it along to you.

1 large bunch kale, well-washed and mostly dried
Hefty pinch of sea salt
1 tomato, chopped (try and get a Roma, they're less juicy)
1 tablespoon almond butter or tahini
2 garlic cloves, divided
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 cup almond meal (or finely ground up blanched almonds if you're in a pinch)
1/4 cup all purpose of GF flour
Olive oil
1 tiny onion, sliced
1/4 cup plant-based mayo
Zest of a lemon
Juice of half a lemon

Derib kale (and ribs aside for future use- toss them in a smoothie or something), take the leaves and sprinkle with sea salt and massage with your hands for a second. Let rest for 15 minutes. In the meantime toss the tomato, almond butter (or tahini if you don't have it), one garlic clove, coriander, and cumin into the food processor and blend until smooth.



Rinse the salt off the kale. In a large saucepan heat a little olive oil, then toss the rinsed kale in and saute for just a few minutes until it wilts. Meanwhile, mix the almond meal and flour in a small bowl.  Once the kale has wilted down, transfer it to a bowl and allow to completely cool- if you're in a rush you can throw it in the fridge for a few minutes.

While the kale is cooling dice the remaining garlic clove and add it to the vegan mayo, along with the zest of the lemon and the juice from half of it. Refrigerate to allow flavors to marinate. Slice the onion and saute in a pan with some oil over medium-low heat for 10-15 minutes, until completely caramelized, then set aside.


Once the kale has cooled squeeze out all the excess water. Add the kale to the food processor with the tomato mixture and pulse several times until the kale is finally chopped. If the kale mixture is too wet to form into patties add a few tablespoons of the almond flour mixture. If it's too dry, then add some olive oil or water. After forming each burger, carefully coat each side in the almond flour mixture.

Heat a couple tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat in a non-stick pan (if you're not using a non-stick, spray it with non-stick spray before adding the oil, trust me on this one). Once the oil is hot add the burgers in, cooking three minutes per side.


Assemble: I served these bunless. I added a half teaspoon of the lemon garlic aioli to each burger and finished it off with the caramelized onions. I also had some leftover 'steak' mushrooms that I threw on top but the burger itself is so good I wouldn't worry about not having the mushrooms. Twice I paired these with potatoes, once with these sweet potato fries and the second time with potato skins, that recipe is coming soon.

This roughly make six mini burgers (which are very filling).