It looks like meat, doesn't it?
At the moment, we’re eating vegetarian (for reasons to be explained at a later date). We’re four days in to the two-week experiment, and so far it hasn’t been too difficult; lots of beans, nuts and vegetables have filled in the gaps in our diet where meat used to reign supreme. Talk to me on Day 10, though, and I might be ready to sell my soul for some sirloin.
As the 4th of July weekend approaches, we’ve made plans to go to Portland for the long weekend (details on that trip to come after). To me, as to many of you I’m sure, the 4th of July necessitates some kind of outdoor barbecue experience. If you’re not eating meat, as we’re rapidly learning, your barbecue and “burger” options are pretty limited. Personally I think Gardenburgers are about as tasty as water-logged cardboard, and Boca burgers have too spongy a texture.
But we had a can of black beans lying around the apartment, so black bean burgers seemed a logical outcome before packing up for the long weekend.
A quick Google turned up a recipe from The Washington Post food blog, A Mighty Appetite, authored by Kim O’Donnel. The post is from last year, but since I already read Kim’s blog and follow her on Twitter, all I needed was her stamp of approval on a black bean burger recipe to forge ahead.
The trouble with making a burger without ground beef is that it’s more inclined to fall apart. I solved this with a healthy dose of my beloved panko, and chilling the burgers for about an hour before putting them on a hot griddle. They ended up being savory, spicy, almost, dare I say, meaty. And hey, look at that picture. If you didn’t know better, you’d think it was a REAL burger, right?
Black bean goodness
Spicy Black Bean Burgers
Adapted from A Mighty Appetite (in turn adapted from “Recipe of the Week: Burgers” by Sally Sampson)
- 1 can black beans, drained, rinsed, and drained again
- 1/3 cup to 1/2 cup Japanese-style panko breadcrumbs
- 1 egg
- 2 scallions, both white and green parts, minced
- small handful chopped cilantro, to your preference
- 1 garlic clove, pressed
- 1 tsp. ground cumin
- 3/4 tsp. dried oregano
- 1 tsp. red pepper flakes
- liberal salt and pepper to taste
Serves 2, but really hefty burgers, so probably really makes 3 normal burgers
Put about 1 cup of the black beans in a food processor (or alternatively, mash with a potato masher). Put beans in a bowl and mix in all the other ingredients. If it seems a little too oozy, add more panko.
Shape into patties about 1 inch thick and put on a plate covered with wax paper or foil. Chill for at least 15 minutes.
Heat a cast-iron skillet or griddle to high heat. You can put a little olive oil on the hot surface if you want, but it works fine without. When hot, put the burgers on and cook for 4-5 minutes, until seared. Flip (careful, they are a bit flimsy), turn the heat to medium, and cook another 5 minutes.
We served these with Tillamook cheddar, lettuce, tomato, and some cilantro-lime mayo.
Lisa
Jeremy
