Mushroom Quinoa Veggie Burger

1. Pulse mushrooms in a food processor until cut into pea-sized pieces. Heat truffle butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms; season with salt and pepper. Cook mushrooms, stirring occasionally, until they’ve expressed all of their water and are dry, about 15-20 minutes. Add thyme. Turn heat up to high and sauté until browned, about 5 more minutes. Remove from heat.
2. Add quinoa and water to a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil. After about 1 minute, turn heat down to low and cover; simmer until quinoa has absorbed all the water and is fluffy. Spread quinoa in a thin layer on a sheet pan to cool completely and dry out a bit.
3. Add mushrooms and quinoa to the food processor, with ½ of the black eyed peas. Puree until smooth.
4. Empty mushroom mixture into a mixing bowl. Add remaining black eyed peas, breadcrumbs, egg, smoked paprika, and porcini powder; season with salt and pepper. Mix well until completely combined. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or overnight.
5. Meanwhile, take half of the black garlic and mash until smooth (add a teeny bit of hot water if garlic is too hard or dry). Stir in mayonnaise and remaining black garlic. Refrigerate until needed.
6. When ready to cook, form patties (about 6 ounces each) and set on parchment paper. Season each side with salt and pepper.
7. Heat a little olive oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet or griddle. Cook patties until browned and crisp on each side, about 6-8 minutes total. Just before patties are done, add a slice of cheese to each and cover to melt.
8. Dress buns with black garlic mayo and your choice of veggies. Add patties and serve immediately.

Recipe tips: if mixture seems too wet, add additional bread crumbs. Black garlic can be found in the dry goods section of most Asian markets.