Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Black Bean Burgers




I decided to make these after I baked some kaiser rolls and had leftovers. Because freshly baked bread can go bad pretty quickly, I wanted to use these up. I didn't want to make a traditional burger since I'm trying to eat less meat, nor did I want to just make a sandwich. Then all the stars aligned and Katie posted a black bean burger on her blog, Good Things Catered. Perfect!

It's funny, after being a vegan for 5 years and a vegetarian for another 5 years (betcha' didn't know that about me!), I had never had a black bean burger. I had veggie burgers a lot but a black bean burger was never something I was attracted to. Boy, was I missing out.

These were SO flavorful and had an absolutely perfect texture. And they were so easy and adaptable to just about anything you have on hand in your pantry! Even my hunter meat loving husband was impressed. I adapted the portions and the procedure because I don't have a food processor, and 4 big burgers were too many for us. To say I'll make these again is an understatement since I've already made them again! These are a new staple in our house!

Ingredients
Adapted from Good Things Catered

1 can low-sodium black beans, drained and rinsed well
1/4 medium yellow onion, minced well
1 large clove garlic, minced
1 medium carrot, shredded finely
1 egg
1/4 c. herbed bread crumbs
1 sprig thyme, chopped
3 green onions, green parts only, chopped finely
salt
pepper

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line baking sheet with parchment. Using a fine meshed sieve over the sink, add shredded carrots and press out all moisture using your fingers. Then in a large bowl combine all ingredients and mash well with a potato masher.

Using hands (if mixture is relatively goopy, don't worry), place bun-sized patties onto baking sheet. Put into oven and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until edges have crisped up and burgers are cooked through. Remove from oven and serve on a fresh roll with nice thick tomato slices and fresh lettuce.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Okay, this post totally made my WEEK. You are so flattering. I'm so glad you liked them. They are my favorite burger (used to eat them like 4x a week in college) so I'm glad you like them too! :) :)

Kira said...

I LOVE black bean burgers and can't believe you never had them as a vegetarian! They're my favorite kind of veggie burger.

Barbara said...

I like the idea of a black bean burger. I made it once before with not-real-nice results, it was crumbly dry, and had hardly any flavor at all.... we didn't eat more than one bite. I can't remember which recipe I used, but looking at yours, I might give it another try. Saving this page as we speak!

gcs said...

sounds really delicious and will try it tonight... i won't have freshly baked bun - i need a gluten free recipe for that...

 

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