Open-Face Smoky Sweet Potato Burgers with Roasted Garlic "Cream" & Avocado

Sweet potatoes are not my favorite.

So when a friend of mine asked if I would try out a recipe for her, my gut instinct was to say "no, I don't really do sweet potatoes."  But that would make me a total hypocrite in the eyes of my son.  Almost every night at dinner, we talk about how our tastebuds are always changing.  Which makes it really important that we keep trying new things, and even re-trying old things that we didn't like before.  There are a number of foods that I hated as a child but looooooooooooove now.

So how could I, in good conscience, tell my friend "thanks, but no thanks."  I couldn't.

Dang it.

Thank you GOD for giving me a conscience.  Because otherwise I would never have known how FREAKING INCREDIBLE these burgers are.

Open Face Smoky Sweet Potato Burgers with Roasted Garlic "Cream" & Avocado
Recipe slightly adapted from How Sweet It Is
Prep time: 20 minutes   Cook time: 10 minutes

For the "cream" sauce:
1 bulb of roasted garlic
2/3 cup plain Greek yogurt [You can use sour cream if the thought of yogurt makes you cringe]
1 tsp maple syrup
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the burgers:
2 large sweet potatoes
1 cup cannellini beans (rinsed and drained if canned)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/3 cup Panko bread crumbs
1/3 cup quick-cooking oats
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp cumin
2-3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil


For sandwich assembly:
1 avocado, sliced
4 thick slices whole wheat bread

1.  Preheat oven to 375.

I went ahead and roasted 2 bulbs but only used one.

2.  To roast garlic, lop off the top 1/4 of the bulb; you want to expose as many cloves as possible.  Rub off some of the excess paper and place, cut side up, in a foil lined pan.  Drizzle the bulb with a little EVOO and let sit for 10 minutes.  Cover the pan (or ball up the foil around the bulb) and roast for 45 minutes; let cool.

Roasted Garlic = Garlic Candy

3.  Squeeze out the cooled garlic cloves into a bowl and mash up with a fork.  Add in the yogurt, maple syrup, salt, and pepper.  Mix to combine and set aside until ready to use.

If you don't like garlic chunks than zip this through the food processor.

3.  Pierce the potatoes all over with a fork and place in the microwave.  If you have a Potato button on your microwave, fabulous!  If not, microwave on High for about 10 minutes, flipping over halfway through.  Remove the cooked potatoes from the microwave, slice in half and let cool until you can scoop out the flesh.

Two big potatoes makes 4 MASSIVE burgers

4.  In a large bowl, coarsely mash beans with a fork. Add in sweet potato and mash together, then add in spices, salt and pepper, minced garlic, egg, panko and oats. Mix together until combined, then place bowl in the fridge for at least 15-20 minutes. This helps form them into patties.

Pat out the mixture and score with your hand to make fairly even patties.

5.  Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add 2 tbsp olive oil. Remove mixture from fridge and form into 4 equal patties, then place in the skillet once hot. Since the mixture can be wet and messy, do not move until they are fully cooked and golden on one side! This takes about 5-6 minutes. Then, add more oil if needed (this really helps cook them) and flip burgers very gently. Cook for another 5-6 minutes.

Betcha I could freeze these at this point to cook up later.
WOO HOO for a Get Ahead moment!!

6.  To assemble, smear a healthy amount of the "cream" sauce on the toasted bread.  Top with the burger and fan out some avocado sliced on top.

You want some good heat to get that yummy, dark crust.
But not so high that the outside burns while the inside is still cool.

As I type up this post now, I am shoveling the last leftover burger into my mouth as fast as my taste buds can handle it.  These. Are. AWESOME!!!  I used a 1/2 sharp, 1/2 sweet paprika for some really good flavor, and plenty of good quality cumin.  The natural sweetness of the sweet potato helps balance out all the spices so it's not too savory, not too sweet.  With that sharp, sweetness of the roasted garlic in the yogurt "cream" sauce, and buttery mellowness of the avocado, you get this amazing contrast of flavors just exploding in your mouth. 

I dare you to eat these and NOT fall in love.  Your taste buds will thank me later. ;)