Feb 26th 10

Mexican Black Bean Burgers

Once again, dinner inspiration happened in the form of my friend Erica.  She had sent me this e-mail, chocked-full of technical terminology : )

Spicy Black Bean Burgers:

1 (16 ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed 1/2 green bell pepper, cut into 2 inch pieces 1/2 onion, cut into wedges 3 cloves garlic, peeled 1 egg 1 tablespoon chili powder 1 tablespoon cumin 1 teaspoon Thai chili sauce (or 2) 1/2 cup bread crumbs (I used VT Kitchen whole wheat)

Mash the beans with a fork unti mushy (that is a very technical term).  But all the veggies in my mini food processer and diced to very small (again with the technical terms).  In another bowl I mixed the eggs and spicy stuff – and then added that to the beans.  Add the veggies and the bread crumbs and form into patties (made three good sized patties).  Bake for 10  minutes each side. 

 I had mine with a slice of avacado, tomato, a thin slice of jack cheese and I served in on some faux slaw – red cabbage with some cider vinegar.

Ok, so to Erica, Kristi, and everyone else who has submitted recipes only to have me doctor them up “my way,” I do hope you realize it’s not for any reason except I use what I have in my pantry/fridge/possession.  I hate getting all excited to try something, and not be able to because I’m missing one thing…I just substitute.

Sooo…here’s what I did tonight.  I took a can of black beans (16 oz.), 1/2 a green pepper, 1 small onion, 3 cloves of garlic, a packet of taco seasoning (I had a medium spice level), 1 egg, and a spoonful of roasted red pepper paste leftover from my Thai Corncakes.  I put it into a food processor:

 I then pureed that till it was smooth, like this:

 

Next up, I had a nice hot (and I mean HOT) oven preheating- I had the broiler on at 500 degrees.  I put about 4-6 patties at a time in a shallow dish, broiled for about 5-6 minutes on each side (flipping once during cooking) then topped with cheese, and put back in just till it was melted.  Here’s what they ended up looking like:

Related posts:

1. Black Bean Brownies
2. Beanless Chili in Green Pepper Cups
3. Carrot Ginger and Chicken Soup
4. Renee's Island Mango Salsa
5. Speedy Spiced Edamame