Beet burgers and "The Kind Life"

I don't know if you have a had a chance to check out Alicia Silverstone's blog The Kind Life yet, but I am adding a link to my homepage in case you haven't because it has some really good stuff on it. Last weekend I tried out a recipe for "beet cakes" that I absolutely adore. Alicia found them on another food blog called Lucid Food, and I am glad she did because they are so delicious, I can't wait to make them again sometime soon. I call mine beet burgers because they make a pretty tasty burger, but you could also eat them on their own like the cute little beet cakes that they are. For the original recipe, check either blog link above. I of course made a couple of minor modifications, including doubling the recipe since I had two large beets, and so the way I made them is listed below:

1 cup brown rice (I used brown jasmine--it was both tasty and fragrant)
1 large onion or two smaller onions (I used a HUGE sweet onion)
2 teaspoons smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
2 large beets
olive oil
1/4 to 1/3 cup white wine
1 teaspoon salt



Cook the brown rice and let it cool. Peel and grate the beets and place all of the grated beets except for about 2/3 of a cup in a food processor. Saute the onions in olive oil over low to medium heat, stirring often until caramelized. I did this for about 6 or 7 minutes, and then I added some white wine to bring out the flavor and help encourage the caramelization. Once the onions are cooked, remove from heat and stir in the paprika, cayenne, and salt. Place the rice and onions in the food processor with the beets and process until it is a blended thick mixture. Stir the mixture into a bowl with the rest of the shredded beets and then form your patties.

The original recipe calls for pan frying at this point, which I tried but didn't really care for. It was a little labor-intensive for me and I didn't want to use a lot of oil, so instead I placed my patties on a baking sheet sprayed with non-stick olive oil spray and baked them for about 10-12 minutes on each side at 350. The flavor is hearty and rich and really satisfying. (These also make a great gluten-free wheat-free dish for you gluten-free beet lovers out there!)