Who doesn't love a good burger now and then? I certainly do. Burgers used to be the kind of unhealthy food you could only get at snackbars, but nowadays (especially in the UK) burgers are everywhere. They come in all sorts, made from beef, chicken or salmon, topped with crispy bacon, truffle mayonnaise, avocado, quails eggs and so on. And the best thing is that burgers are not necessarily unhealthy anymore! You can eat them bunless, with salads as a side or you can just go for a veggie burger. I would normally not switch my beef burger for a vegetarian version, but I'll make an exception for these delicious sweet potato burgers I found on BBC Good Food. The ingredients for four burgers are:

• 140 gr brown rice


• 850g sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into small cubes


• olive oil


• 1 tsp ground cumin


• 2 tbsp sunflower seeds


• 1 small red onion, very finely chopped


• 1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped


• small pack basil, leaves finely shredded, stalks discarded


• 1 avocado


• 2 tbsp lime juice

Preparation:

1. Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Cook the rice following the pack instructions, then drain. Spread the rice out on a baking tray to steam-dry – it needs to be as dry as possible before adding to the sweet potatoes.


2. Meanwhile, toss the sweet potatoes with 2 tbsp olive oil and the cumin. Season and spread out in a large roasting tin in a single layer. Roast the potatoes for 30 mins until tender and coloured, but not too crisp. Meanwhile, put the sunflower seeds in a cup, cover with water and set aside to soak while the sweet potatoes cook.


3. Put some olive oil in a small saucepan and set over a low-medium heat. Add the onion with a pinch of salt and cook, stirring often, for 5 mins. Add the chilli, and cook for 5 mins more until very soft.


4. Drain the sunflower seeds, pat dry on kitchen paper and tip into a large mixing bowl with the sweet potatoes. Crush gently using a masher or the back of a fork. Add the rice, onion mixture, half the basil and seasoning to taste. Continue to crush together until the mixture is well mixed but not smooth. Form into 4 x 10cm diameter burger patties. You can be make them up to 48 hrs ahead – keep covered and chilled until needed and allow to sit at room temperature for 15 mins before cooking.


5. Put the patties on a baking tray lined with baking parchment. Roast for 30 mins until warmed through and beginning to brown.


6. Make the salsa in a bowl by combining the avocado with the lime juice, remaining basil and seasoning to taste.

You can serve the burgers on a bun, with fries, or salad, whatever you like. Enjoy!

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