Burger, Revised

My last attempt at the black bean burger wasn’t quite right. So I gave it another go, and this time I think I’ve got a recipe worth passing along. For those just tuning in, this experiment was based on the Elk’s anasazi bean burger.

Ingredients

1 can of black beans, drained but not rinsed

1/4 cup each of chopped:

• yellow onion
• red bell pepper
• green bell pepper

1/2 cup of cilantro, packed

3/4 cup bread crumbs

2 eggs

2 tbs olive oil

1 tspn cumin

1/2 tspn cayenne pepper

salt and pepper to taste

slice of cheese of choice (optional)

bun and dressings of choice

Preparation

1. Saute the vegetables in 1 tbs of the oil for about 10 min. Set aside to cool.
2. Dump beans and cilantro in food processor; pulse several times until coarsely chopped. Set aside in mixing bowl.
3. Dump cooled vegetables in food processor and pulse until coarsely chopped. Put in mixing bowl with beans, along with cumin, cayenne, salt and pepper.
4. Break eggs into the bowl and start to mix, gradually adding bread crumbs until well-blended and moist yet firm. Add more bread crumbs if it seems too loose. Form patties.
5. Heat rest of oil in pan then cook each patty about 3 min. per side until golden.
6. Bake burgers in preheated 400-degree oven for 3 to 5 min. so they heat through.
7. While burgers bake, toast buns and dress to taste.

This recipe makes three hearty burgers or four smaller ones.

The Elk and its siblings serve the burger with a choice of roasted corn pasta salad or potato salad. Delicious, but gut-busting. I like a side of fresh pico de gallo with some tortilla chips.