SF
BLACK BEAN BURGERS
MAKES 6 BURGERS/TIME: 30 MIN
2 cups cooked or 1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
cup vital wheat gluten cup plain vegan whole wheat bread
crumbs 1 teaspoon chili powder
teaspoon ground cumin
% cup water
1 tablespoon tomato paste or ketchup % cup finely chopped fresh cilantro
(optional)
2 cloves garlic
small onion
About 2 tablespoons olive oil, for pan
Olive oil spray
Vegan whole wheat buns
Here's a nice, wholesome Southwestern black bean burger. Everything's been kept fairly simple so that you can top it with all sorts of things-Sour Cilantro Cream (page 319), Tropical Avocado Salsa Fresca (page 322), Guacamole (page 78), or all of the above. Plain old ketchup is fine, too. Also include your good friends lettuce, tomato, and red onion. Did we mention that these freeze well, too? Once cooked, pack them in a resealable plastic bag with sheets of waxed paper to separate them, then reheat in a 350F oven for 25 to 30 minutes.
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 you should leave some half beans.
Add the wheat gluten, bread crumbs, chili powder, cumin, water, and tomato paste (and cilantro, if using), but don't mix yet. Use a Microplane grater to grate the garlic in. (A garlic press or very well minced garlic works, too.) Use the large holes on a box grater to grate in the onion.
Mix everything together with a fork and then proceed to knead with your hands. until the mixture is firm and uniformly mixed (about a minute).
Preheat a heavy-bottomed pan over medium heat.
Divide the burger mixture into six equal pieces. Roll each piece into a firm ball. Use your palm to press a ball down on a clean surface to form a patty that is about
1 inches 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 over for uniform browning. Once cooked, the patties should be very firm when you press down on them.
Serve warm on burger buns.
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otherwise known as Giant_Aspirin