First of all, #relationshipgoals. This couple is the mastermind behind Chef Sous Chef, a foodie-friendly blog and Instagram account that's beloved by clean-line minimalists and real food foodies. Their focus is healthy, whole foods; no preservatives or unpronounceable ingredients. Phil is the chef, responsible for creating the recipes and doing the cooking. Mystique is the social media and design savvy sous chef, responsible for their food styling, photography, blog, and social media. Go follow them on Instagram - right now!

I invited them into my kitchen to cook up a few dishes in their signature CSC way; clean, delicious, and in this case, allergy-friendly. They came prepared to cook two dishes, both starring beets, one of Mystique's favorite ingredients. They aren't strangers to dietary restrictions, avoiding lactose and often gluten. They've also done the Whole 30 diet which you can read about here.

To make these blissful beet burgers at home you'll need:

Ingredients
2 medium beets roughly diced
½ cup brown rice – cooked and cooled
1 small onion diced
2 cloves of garlic minced
1 large egg beaten
2 tbsp rice flour
1 tbsp mayo (Hellman's Olive Oil Mayo)
1 tsp capers chopped
1 tsp orange juice
½ tsp orange zest

This recipe is free from dairy, nuts, peanuts, mustard seed, legumes, and oats

If you head over to the Chef Sous Chef Instagram page you'll notice they post amazing minimalist shots using all the ingredients that will form their next meal. This is their mystery box feature, and this is how it's done. Mystique uses a simple white table as the backdrop for the shot, then presents each ingredient in a visually interesting way. Pepper kernels are meticulously arranged, egg shells are masterfully placed, and she works with the texture, size, and consistency of each ingredient to form the most appealing flat lay. 

Meanwhile Phil got to work on peeling the beets, not exactly a fun job but it was easy to see that he really enjoys the full cooking process. He had prepared them ahead of time by covering in tinfoil and then roasting in a 350F oven for about 30 - 40 minutes. I've only ever boiled my beets so I was happy to learn a new technique. It also made them much cleaner to handle and they kept their nice firm texture. He also sauteed the onion until it was soft and translucent in a non-stick pan with a little olive oil.

Next the beets were thrown into a food processor with the garlic, onion, and cooked rice and pulsed until smooth.

He transferred that to a large mixing bowl and added the egg, salt, pepper, brown rice, and some brown rice flour. Then he mixed it up really well and began forming the patties.

He then heated up a non-stick pan with about 1 tbsp of olive oil and added the burgers. They got to fry for about 7 minutes on each side. This created a wonderful crispy crust. 

While the burgers were frying he worked on the zesty mayo. Capers, orange zest, and orange juice were added to some olive oil mayo and stirred up til nice and creamy.

You can get my recipe for homemade bread here! 

Phil sliced open 2 buns and lined each one with some lettuce and a dollop of mayo. 

Look at the beautiful crisp crust on that burger. Doesn't it make your mouth water?

When you have 3 food photographers in a room the general rule is to add about 45 minutes to the prep time to account for styling and photos. I love how we both interpreted the same meal in two very different ways. You can see my final shot below, and Mystique's final shot on their website and Instagram page. 

In the words of Ina Garten, how simple was that?

I think this recipe would make a fantastic weeknight meal or the perfect substitute for meat at your next BBQ. It's indulgent while still being healthy, and it's sure to impress any guest. 

We made 2 very hefty burgers, but it can also yield 4 regular sized ones