Staple #5: Black Bean Burgers

While in graduate school, my husband made friends with a guy who was, as I like to describe, “vegan plus eggs.” He had been a vegan for a while but went back to being a vegetarian because he missed eggs. I mean, one of the guy’s expressions is “put a bird on it.” He will seriously put an egg on anything. At the time, I did not do a lot of vegetarian cooking, so when we invited him and his girlfriend over for dinner, I took to the internet for a “vegan plus eggs” meal. Epicurious is one of my favorite recipe sites and it came to my rescue. Ever since, this recipe has been a staple in our house. It’s easy and pantry friendly. My husband has also been known to say, he likes this burger recipe better than a beef burger!

The hardest part about this recipe is making a pile of mashed up black beans look appetizing in a picture!

Black Bean Burgers

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 5 minutes
Yields: 4 burgers

Ingredients

2 (14-ounce) cans black beans

3 tablespoons mayonnaise

⅓ cup plain dry bread crumbs

2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 teaspoon dried oregano

¼ teaspoon cayenne

¼ cup finely chopped cilantro

Vegetable oil for cooking

Instructions

Rinse both cans of black beans until the water runs clear. Try to remove as much excess water as possible.

Pulse half of the beans in a food processor with mayonnaise, bread crumbs, cumin, oregano, and cayenne until a coarse purée forms. Transfer to a bowl and stir in cilantro and the remaining half of the beans. Form mixture into 4 patties.

Heat oil (about 1 tablespoon) in a skillet over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Cook burgers until outsides are crisp and lightly browned, turning once, about 5 minutes total. Serve on buns topped with lettuce, tomato, onion and avocado

From Gourmet February 2009