Indian Samosa Burgers with Avocado "Chutney" !

This past summer I traveled to Costa Rica to study for a month and I wanted to share some pictures of my travels with you guys! They are extremely vegan friendly there!  During my studies, I was assigned to stay with a host family which I was nervous about because I didn't know whether or not they would understand my food preferences but they turned out to be the most amazing people! They went out of their way to make me an endless variety of vegan meals and the food was AMAZING. The fruit in Costa Rica, especially the pineapple and mango (which are my favorites!) were the best I have ever had and made up most of every meal people eat there! Every restaurant that I went to had some form of vegan or vegetarian food and there were even a couple of vegan/vegetarian restaurants near my school in Heredia.

The culture there is so peaceful and relaxing and they really live up to their title of “Happiest Country  in the World!” The local saying “Pura Vida” which means in some way a relaxed life and the people of Costa Rica really represent that. Coming from NYC, I’m used the constant fast paced way of life so slipping into the Costa Rican mindset was so relaxing and worry free! I miss the amazing fresh fruit and the carefree way of life. If you’re a vegan planning to go on vacation, I recommend Costa Rica 100%!

- Alexis

Indian Samosa Burgers

• 2 small Potatoes
• ¼ - ½ cup Ground flaxseed
• ¼ cup Grated Carrots
• ¼ cup Frozen Peas
• Half of an Onion, chopped
• 2 cloves of Garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons whole flax seeds
• 1 teaspoon Garam Masala (my version below) or to taste
• ½ teaspoon Cayenne Pepper or to taste
• Salt to taste

Directions

Boil peas ahead of time and set aside.

Grate carrots in a food processor and set aside.

Peel potatoes, chop into 1 inch chunks and boil in a small pot until a fork can pierce them but not until mushy.  Put potatoes and grated carrots into a food processor and process until smooth, if you like yours chunky just process less.

In a big bowl, mix together potato and carrot “dough” with the onion, garlic, ground flaxseed, whole flaxseeds and spices and then gently fold in the cooked peas so you don’t break them up.

Form the dough into patties and lightly fry them over medium-low heat until golden brown on both sides. If not eating right away, store cooked veggie burgers in an airtight container and freeze until ready to use.

Garam Masala

• 1 tablespoon Cumin
• ½ tablespoon ground black pepper
• 2 teaspoons ground coriander
• 2 teaspoons ground cardamom
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• ¾ teaspoon cinnamon
• ¾ teaspoon ground bay leaves
• ½ teaspoon cloves
• ½ teaspoon nutmeg

Directions

Mix together all spices and put into an airtight container.

 Avocado Chutney

• 1 Avocado, mashed
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• Half of an onion, chopped
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• ½ tablespoon mustard
• 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
• ¼ teaspoon Cayenne Pepper

Directions

Mix together the avocado, vinegar, mustard and cayenne pepper and set aside.

Sauté onions and garlic in the olive oil until translucent and tender and mix together with the avocado paste.

Put in an airtight container and refrigerate.

Vegan Yucca Burgers with Cuban Mojo Sauce!

Hey guys,

I have another savory recipe for you - Vegan Yucca Burgers with a Cuban Mojo Sauce! I've been exploring a lot of vegan Latin recipes and cooking a lot of Cuban food and I got inspired by Yucca fries. I decided to try out a veggie burger with it and it came out better than I expected! If you've never had yucca before the taste is similar to potatoes and can be used to substitute them. It might look intimidating when you look at it but just give it a try!

Thanks,
Alexis

YUMMY YUCCA BURGERS

• 1 small Yucca Root
• ½ cup quick cooking oats, grinded in the food processor
• ¼ cup flax seeds
• ½ cup green pepper, chopped
• ¼ of an onion, chopped
• ½ of a lime, juiced
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 – 1 ½ tsp cumin
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil plus more for frying
• ½ tsp poultry seasoning
• ½ tsp black pepper
• ½ tsp liquid smoke
• ½ tsp oregano
• ½ tsp basil

DIRECTIONS

In a food processor, add the oats and half of the flax seeds and process until they become flour and then place in a bowl and set aside.

Cut and peel yucca (if you’re confused about how to do this, here’s a video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pcS7XyRPDXg) and slice into halves length wise and place in a pot with enough water to cover and boil it until tender, your fork should be able to easily pierce it. After cooking, remove the fibrous stem from the center and cut into small chucks so it will be easier to process. Place your garlic, onion, yucca and 1 teaspoon of olive oil in your food processor and process until it comes together. It will be very sticky so don’t worry too much about that. Put your processed yucca in a bowl and add in your lime, chopped green pepper, spices and mix together. After fully incorporating, add in your oat and flax seed mix into the yucca mixture a tablespoon at a time until you its well incorporated, it will be sticky dough. The yucca holds together really well on its own so I only used about three to four tablespoons of the flour.

Heat your pan on medium to low with two tablespoons of olive oil.

Add your whole flax seeds to your leftover oat and flax flour. Coat your hands in a little oil and form patties with the yucca dough and then coat them lightly in the leftover oat and flax flour to create a nice crust when frying. Fry them for 5 – 7 minutes on each side or until golden brown (this time depends on your stove).

I served this the first night with caramelized onions and Cuban Mojo sauce.

CUBAN MOJO SAUCE

• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 6 cloves of garlic, minced
• ¼ cup freshly squeezed lime juice
• ¼ cup freshly squeezed orange juice
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• ½ tsp cumin
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp pepper

DIRECTIONS

Mix everything together in a bowl and let sit for at least a half an hour so the flavors can meld together and that’s it!