Expat tip #1:
Make friends with Canadians.
They’re super neat, they know all the best hot sauces, they wear lulu lemon for every occasion, they have great taste in beer and if they’re from Vancouver, they understand the challenges between needing burgers in your life and balancing trend following in the form of quinoa, kale & hiking, just for fun.

(I should be clear, i’m all of the above. Except that the idea of hiking and the outfits you can wear are way more fun than actually hiking. After 5 minutes on Grouse Mountain imma just about ready punch the five year old beating me. Because yes, hiking is a competition.)

Cauliflower & Quinoa Burgers with Chipotle Mayo

Makes 6 large burgers

Ingredients

1/2 cup of quinoa
1 medium cauliflower, chopped
Olive oil
1 onion, roughly chopped
3 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
2tsp each of cumin, cayenne & coriander powder
1 can of chickpeas, drained & rinsed
Handful of coriander – roots & leaves
1 cup of breadcrumbs
1 egg
Salt & pepper
4 hamburger buns or English muffins
Swiss cheese, red cabbage & coriander to serve

Chipotle mayo:
4tsp chipotle paste
3tsp mayonnaise

Method

Cook the quinoa as per the packet instructions then leave aside. Bring a small pot of water to the boil and cook the cauliflower for 5 minutes or until soft then drain.

While that’s on, heat a little olive oil in a pan and saute the onion and garlic for 5 minutes then stir through the spices. Once you can smell them, turn off the heat.

In a food processor, pulse the onion spice mix, chickpeas, coriander and cauliflower until almost smooth – you want to leave little bits of texture rather than it being pureed, so don’t go overboard.

Stir through the cooked quinoa, breadcrumbs and egg then season to taste. Roll the mixture into patties the same width as your buns then heat a little more oil in a pan and gently fry over a low heat until browed and crisp on both sides. Take your time doing this. They will be quite fragile so be gentle with your spatular.

While that’s on, combine the chipotle with the mayonnaise and toast your buns. Et voila!