Bean burgers with herbs, buckweat and carrot salad

This is a cheap and quick dish for the cold winter evenings when you feel like you could use something healthy and full of vitamins. 

That recipe has been on my mind for quite some time, but the actual version changed so much during the cooking process that it is now something completely new. Luckily this version came out even more delicious! It is vegan and if you use gluten free or flax seed flour it's also gluten free :) 

Ingredients (amounts are given per one very generous or two average portions) : 

• 1 1/2 cup buckwheat
• 200g of canned red beans (about half a can)
• 3-4 tbls of flour (all-purpose, whole-grain, etc, most should work; I prefer whole-grain)
• 3 roughly chopped spring onions
• one small carrot
• one small (or half of a large) red onion
• 2 leaves of greek salad (or any other salad that you prefer, but greek salad stays fresh the longest so I prefer it)
• dill, garlic, chives or any other herb you prefer (I used dill, ground garlic and a bit of basil)
• 1 tbls of vinegar (I used regular, but white wine vinegar would suit just as well)
• salt, pinch of sugar

First thing to do is to boil buckwheat - put it in a small pot and add cold water until buckwheat is covered with about 3cm of water.  Add about 1/2 tsp of salt and boil until tender. While the buckwheat is boiling, dough for the burgers can be prepared. 

For the burgers pour canned beans (with the liquid) into the blender, add about half of the chopped spring onions and blend until pureed, but not yet smooth. It can have small pieces of beans and onions still in it as it adds texture to the burgers. Pour the puree into a bowl, add a pinch of salt, garlic powder and 3 tbls of flour. Keep adding the flour until the dough is thick and sticky, but not yet too dry. The consistency of the dough should be similar to that of a thick sour cream:

Heat some oil on the pan and add a small balls of dough to the pan using a tablespoon. Use the spoon to press the burger thinner as it will help the burger to cook more evenly. Fry on both sides on medium heat until brown on the outside and cooked in the middle.It should look something like this:

 You can check, whether the burger is done by cutting it in half.

To make the salad use the vegetable peeler to make thin slices of the carrot. Chop the red onion thinly and add it to the carrot. Chop the salad leaves roughly. Mix everything together and season with vinegar, salt and sugar. If you feel that the vinegar on its own is too strong, try diluting it with water before adding it to the salad. If it feels too dry, add a bit of olive oil.

When the buckwheat is done, season it with chopped herbs, garlic and add the rest of the spring onions. Throw everything to the plate and start nomnomnom-ing :)