Raw Burgers with Mango Salsa

I have often extolled the virtues and benefits of eating as many foods in as close to their natural state as possible. Avoid processed foods, eat whole foods, eat organic, eat local, yada yada … you’ve heard it all before, probably from people who have put it more compellingly than I ever could, so I’ll just proceed as if we already all agree on this point 🙂

We eat a lot of raw food here at the Outpost, through no concerted efforts other than we really love fruits and vegetables, and we happen to be fortunate enough to live in a place where terrific produce is available year round. The thing, is, though, that most of our raw cuisine consists of smoothies, salads, nuts, and crudités. Not exactly blog worthy cuisine, eh?

From time to time, however, I do like to concoct more elaborate raw dishes. I have a few favorite raw recipe books that I turn to when the urge to go all-out raw strikes:

Raw Food Real World by Matthew Kenney and Sarma Melngailis
Rawvolution by Matt Amsden
Living Cuisine by Renee Loux Underkoffler
I am Grateful by Terces Engelhart

There are also some really great raw food blogs out there.

I happen to have a few of the items that make the more involved raw food recipes easier to prepare: a food processor, a blender, and a food dehydrator. (If you do not have a dehydrator, you can still make lots of the recipes that require one by using your oven on a low temperature. I would not recommend this for the recipes that require long hours in the dehydrator, but for shorter drying times – such as the burger recipe below – I think it would be just fine.) I do not have the other appliance that would round out the-well stocked raw kitchen: a juicer. When necessary, I get around that by purchasing fresh juice from one of our island natural food stores when a recipe requires it.

Earlier this week I was reading The Sunny Raw Kitchen and was intrigued by Carmella’s post about some jalapeño burgers she recently made. The recipe was originally posted here. I made some modifications to the recipe and my modifications to the recipe are posted below. She had paired her burgers with these avocado fries and I did not see reason to mess with a formula that seemed pretty sure-fire (and I happen to love avocado), so I made those, as well, and followed the recipe with no modifications.

To top off the burgers and avo fries, I made a simple mango salsa, which was absolutely delicious, and the recipe is also posted below.

Raw food is fresh, delicious, and great for you. I am impressed by raw foodists and chefs who do it so well because I think they exhibit a wonderful creativity and imagination in the kitchen. I am not going to be giving up my baked cupcakes or tofu anytime soon, but it’s all about a healthy balance, no?

For those of you who need further convincing on this whole raw food thing, just scroll down to see the raw carrot cake I made from Living Cuisine … absolutely divine, I tell you …..

Raw Burgers

2 cup walnuts, soaked for 4 hours
1/2 cup smoky sun-dried tomatoes, soaked until very soft, reserve 1/8 cup soaking water
1 small poblano pepper, finely chopped
1/2 onion, finely chopped
1 tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp Tandoori seasonings
Salt & pepper to taste

In a food processor, combine all ingredients and process until you achieve a thick, paste-like consistency. Be sure to scrape down the sides during processing to ensure that all ingredients are well incorporated. Remove from processor.

Shape into small patties. Place patties onto a teflex-lined dehydrator tray. Dehydrate at 115F for 2 hours. Flip the patties onto the dehydrator screen for an additional 2 hours.

Salsa

2 tomatoes, diced
1 mango, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tbsp lime juice
1 tsp chili garlic sauce
¼ cup cilantro

Mix all ingredients in a bowl.

And dessert … delicious carrot cake:

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Salsas and Dips

Party food – don’t you just love it?  Too often, though, it is a love-hate relationship, one that draws us in with its sensory allures and then leaves us feeling guilty and cold with empty calories.  Friday was Dan’s birthday and we celebrated all weekend long, including a barbecue with our island ohana yesterday.  I spent a considerable amount of time in the kitchen concocting the menu for the party, and I tried to be conscientious of the fact that people like to indulge at parties but that they feel better about that indulgence when the food is not only tasty but healthy, as well. This is not to say that I did not also bake up my fair share of naughtiness in the kitchen – I made two type of cupcakes, petit fours, sesame-ginger-mint potatoes, and pasta with a rich peanut sauce for the soiree – but the key to life is balance, no?  So I made sure to balance all that sugar with some pupus that feature our dear friends the vegetable, the legume, and the fruit.  I am sharing these recipes from all of the recipes that I made for the party not just because they all disappeared in the blink of an eye and got rave reviews but because they are all so easy to make.  What more can a hostess ask for than a delicious dish that is as low maintenance as it is sensational?

Black Bean Salsa

2 cups yellow pear tomatoes, sliced
1 mango, diced
2 15oz. cans black beans
¼ cup cilantro, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 jalapeno, minced
1 tbsp lime juice
1 tsp cumin
A few dashes of chipotle hot sauce
Salt and pepper to taste

Stir all of the ingredients together in a medium sized bowl.

Tomato Salsa

4 cups grape tomatoes
1 jalapeno, minced
¼ cup cilantro, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
Salt and pepper to taste

Pulse the tomatoes in a food processor until finely chopped.  Spoon out the tomatoes into your serving bowl, and reserve the remaining juice for the guacamole.  Stir in the jalapeño, cilantro, garlic, and salt and pepper.

Guacamole

2 avocados
1/3 cup reserved fresh tomato juice (from the tomato salsa)
1 tbsp lime juice
1 handful cilantro leaves
A few dashes of chipotle hot sauce
1 clove garlic, minced
1 generous cup grape tomatoes, halved
Salt and pepper to taste

Pulse the avocados, tomato juice, lime juice, cilantro, chipotle hot sauce, and garlic in a food processor until finely chopped.  Pour into a bowl, stir in the tomatoes and salt and pepper.

Hummus

2 15.5oz cans garbanzo beans
3 tbsp lemon juice
2 cloves garlic
2 tbsp tahini
1 tsp red curry
2 tbsp olive oil
1/3 cup water
Salt & pepper to taste

Put all ingredients into a food processor and process and completely smooth, stopping to scrape down the bowl when necessary.

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