Burger Burger

Vegetables are something I usually prepare to put on burgers, not in burgers. So this weekend when I prepared to host a cook out for a combination of omnivores, vegetarians, and vegans I had to create a different kind of menu.

I wanted to make sure that everyone could enjoy the menu. So our combined efforts includes lots of grilled veggies, gorgeous orzo salad, delicious veggies with hummus and tapenade and chips/salsa. 

I used my small chopper to process the
oats/pumpkins seeds, spice blend, carrots
and black beans.

 Besides the regular burgers, turkey burgers and hotdogs, I attempted my first purposely vegan recipe, black bean burgers. It seemed that most recipes call for a fairly sophisticated spice blend, a vegetable binder, and the beans smashed and whole.

This particular recipe had a bit of a Indian spice profile and the verdict from vegans and omnivores was that it's a keeper.

I found the process of making the burgers simple and intriguing since it's a careful balance of binding the ingredients and adding enough flavor. I'm not giving up meat anytime soon, but I will certainly be exploring more vegan-inspired recipes.

Vegan Bean Burger Recipe from Daily Garnish
Makes 6 burgers.

• 2 cans black beans (rinsed and drained)
• 2 carrots, grated
• 1/2 cup dry rolled oats
• 1/4 cup pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp coriander
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper

To Prepare:  Preheat oven to 300 degrees.  Next, add the oats and pepitas to your food processor and grind until coarsely chopped (they will still be a little chunky).  Let it run for roughly 10 seconds.  Grate the carrots, and then add to your mixture in the food processor.  Add 3/4 of the beans, all spices, and the olive oil.  Once all of this is in the food processor, give it a whir and mix it all together.

Spoon mixture into a mixing bowl and then fold in the rest of the whole, reserved beans.  Wet your hands and then form into 6 medium sized patties.  Place patties on a non-stick baking sheet or into a baking pan, and bake at 300 degrees for 40 minutes, turning once in the middle.  If you want to grill these, pre-bake them for 30 minutes at 300, and then throw them on the grill to reheat and get a little extra browning.