Wednesday, March 24, 2010

New Recipe of the Week: Black Bean Burgers

Don't get me wrong, I love me a thick, juicy hamburger!! But I'm also one of those people that would love to be a vegetarian but know its a lot of work to get the right nutrients and everything. Plus I have a husband that wouldn't go for the whole no-meat thing!

Instead I settle for meat-free days or meals and this is one I had to share! Even Bryan, the burger loving carnivore, likes these Black Bean Burgers. My friend Maria passed along this recipe and I've made it a few times. What I love almost as much as the taste is that all of the ingredients are things you can store in your pantry and they take no time at all to prepare!

The wheat gluten is a must as this is what makes the texture perfect. The first time I didn't have this so I used whole wheat flour...not bad, but nothing like the wheat gluten! You can buy this at Whole Foods among other places. I served them on toasted whole wheat sandwich rounds with a side of baked sweet potato fries!

Black Bean Burgers


1 (15 oz.) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup vital wheat gluten
1/2 cup plain whole wheat bread crumbs
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon tomato paste or ketchup
1/4 cup finely chopped cilantro (optional)
2 cloves garlic
1/2 small onion
About 2 tablespoons olive oil, plus olive oil spray
Whole wheat buns

Mash the beans with a fork in a mixing bowl. You don't want to puree them; just get them mashed so that no whole beans are left, but leave some half-beans.

Add the wheat gluten, bread crumbs, chili powder, cumin, water and tomato paste (and cilantro) but don't mix yet. Use a microplane grater to grate the garlic in. Use the large holes on a box grater to grate the onion (I just chopped the onion very fine with a knife).

Mix everything together with a fork and then proceed to mix with your hands until the mixture is firm and uniformly mixed (about a minute).

Preheat a heavy-bottomed pan over medium-high heat.

Divide the burger mixture into six equal pieces (I preferred to make bigger burgers so I had less out of one batch). Roll each piece into a firm ball. Use your palm to press the ball down on a clean surface to form a patty that is about 1-1/2 inch thick. Press so that the patty is flat on both sides. Make six patties.

Pour a thin layer of olive oil into the pan. Cook the patties three at a time for 5 minutes on each side, gently but firmly pressing down on them with a spatula. Spray with olive oil before turning them over, for uniform browning. Once cooked, the patties should be very firm when you press down on them.

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