NOURISH | July 4th Recipes: An Alternative to BBQ

As July 4th is coming around, what do you have planned for this national holiday? A day at the park playing sports or enjoying a warm summer breeze  at the beach? Watching fireworks light up the sky to end the day with a bang?

Whatever you choose to do, every exciting plan comes with the headache of feeding a family of excited, hungry people. Most families stock a cooler full of meat for the traditional 4th of July barbecue, but there are healthier alternatives to smoking sausages and patties on the grill. Celebrate both the holiday and your bodies with this treat from Victoria Boutenko’s recipe book, Raw Family Signature Dishes: The Live Garden Burger pâté.

The Live Garden Burger pâté, prepared with vegetables, herbs, and fruits, is a delicious and nutrient-packed alternative to grilling fatty meats. The ingredients are pretty easy to come by and after your pâté is complete, you can use it to make a variety of foods. Victoria recommends using portabella mushrooms instead of buns to create a completely raw and deliciously green garden burger. Some other creative choices for appetizers and finger foods include using crackers to create miniature pizzas with cherry tomatoes and fruits or, my personal favorite, the charming “Bell Pepper Sailboat and Mushroom Fleet.”

Equipment: Blender, food processor, citrus juicer, bowl, wooden spoon, spatula, cutting board, knife, ice-cream scoop

Ingredients: 2 cups sunflower seeds, 3 carrots, 1 medium onion, 1-4 cup raisins, 2 tbsp. raw agave nectar, 1-4 cup olive oil, 1 lemon, 1-4 bunch fresh herbs (such as basil, thyme, dill, or rosemary), 1 tsp. sea salt, 1 hot pepper (jalapeño or other)

Directions РThe P̢t̩

1. Put the S-blade in the food processor. Pour the sunflower seeds in the processor, secure the lid, and grind them to a powder.
2. Remove the blade. Using the spatula, pour the powdered sunflower seeds into the bowl. Put the S-blade back into the processor.
3. Cut the carrots into small chunks, approximately 1 inch thick, and add them to the food processor. Grind until they are pureed.
4. Slice the onion into small square pieces and add to the food processor.
5. Slice the lemons in half, juice them, and pour the juice into the food processor.
6. Add the raisins, raw agave nectar, and olive oil.
7. Slice the onion into small square pieces and add to the food processor.
8. Slice the lemons in half, juice them, and pour the juice into the food processor.
9. Add the raisins, raw agave nectar, and olive oil.
10. Take off the lid and remove the blade. Using the spatula, add the garden burger pâté to the bowl with the ground sunflower seeds.
11. Knead the garden burger pâté with both hands until it is thoroughly mixed.

Now you have a bowl of delicious and nutritious garden burger pâté! We invite you to serve it as you would any burger or pâté. You can form it into balls, cutlets, or fillets and sprinkle with a little paprika. We offer several ideas below; you may come up with unlimited variations of your own.

You will find this delicious garden burger pâté is extremely versatile. Once you have the basic mixture together, you can build a traditional-style burger with mushroom patties (Portabella Burgers), try a cracker-based creation (Mini Pizzas), or get a little more fanciful (Bell Pepper Sailboat and Mushroom Fleet).

This recipe makes roughly 4 cups of pâté, enough for about 4 portabella burgers, 10 pizzas, or 6 bell pepper sailboats. It will keep in the refrigerator for several days so you can use it for a variety of dishes during the week. - Victoria Boutenko

Portabella Burgers:

1. For this recipe, pick out firm, evenly shaped portabella mushrooms—two for each burger.
2. Carefully cut out the mushroom stalks.
3. With the ice-cream scoop, portion out a burger from the pâté and place it on the flat side of the mushroom. Flatten the burger with the spatula.
4. Cut a thin slice of onion and add it on top of the burger.
5. Layer a couple of bright green leaves of lettuce or spinach.
6. Cut a couple of thin slices of tomato and place them on the green leaves.
7. Scoop out another burger and add it on top of the tomatoes. Flatten the burger with the spatula.
8. Add more green leaves to the burger and top off your sandwich with another mushroom “bun.”
9. Serve your mushroom burger with a variety of veggies and sprouts.

Mini Pizza:

1.   Using a butter knife, spread a layer of garden burger pâté on a few crackers.
2.  Decorate as you wish, with sun-dried olives, sliced mushrooms, halved cherry  tomatoes, herbs, and other vegetables.
3.  These charming personal-size pizzas are very satisfying as a main course, or can make perfect appetizers for guests.

Bellpepper Sailboat
and Mushroom Fleet:

1. Remove the stem, seeds, and core from a bell pepper.
2. Cut the pepper in half, sideways along the grooves. This way you will have two parts, each resembling the hull of a boat. Remove any extra seeds.
3. Using a spoon, fill each half with garden burger pâté. Smooth down the filling to look like a deck.
4. Stick a big spinach or basil leaf up in the middle to look like a sail. Decorate with your favorite veggies and herbs. You may serve your sailboats alone, or you can add a mushroom fleet!
5. Carefully twist off the stalks from the button mushrooms.
6. Using a spoon or small ice-cream scoop, fill the mushrooms with pâté.
7. Decorate with whole cherry tomatoes and herbs.

Our family has served this fun and pretty dish at children’s parties, weddings, birthdays, and many other festive gatherings. – Victoria Boutenko

Enjoy these recipe recommendations and have a fun and energy-filled 4th of July!

Featured image by Beverly & Pack on Flickr courtesy of Creative Commons Licensing.