Sunday, April 01, 2012

'Any-Type-Of-Bean' Bean Burgers

It's another busy, crazy weekend and I have little time to cook or be creative. This is one of my (many) go-to, cheap, easy suppers.
It comes together quickly and everyone LOVES it!
This recipe is flexible, it works well with any sort of beans you prefer, or happen to have on hand. We love them with black-eyed-peas but even plain old pinto beans work very well!

One note: I rarely use canned beans, but for this recipe they seem to work as well as, or possibly better than, fresh-cooked. Something to do with the texture of the beans. If you do use home-cooked beans, use leftovers that have set a day or so (I know, who has leftover beans?).

If your mixture simply will NOT stay together, add a tsp. or two. of vital wheat gluten flour - otherwise, this recipe is also gluten free.

"Any Type of Bean" Burger 

2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
6 medium mushrooms, cleaned and chopped fine
salt
freshly ground black pepper
1/4 of a small onion, finely minced
1 medium garlic clove, minced or pressed
1 15 or 16 oz. can beans or black-eyed peas of your choice, drained and rinsed
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro, parsley, green onion, sage, basil OR whatever "green herby thing" you want
1/2 tsp. soy sauce or tamari
1/4 teaspoon Tabasco Sauce or to taste
4 toasted rolls and whatever burger "fixins" you want

INSTRUCTIONS
Heat 1 - 2 tsp of the oil in a large frying pan over medium. Add the mushrooms, season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add the onion and garlic and cook until fragrant and softened, about 3 - 4 minutes. Transfer the mushroom mixture to a small bowl and set aside.

Place the beans in a large bowl and mash with a fork or potato masher, leaving a few intact. Add the mushroom mixture, herbs, soy sauce and Tabasco and mix until combined. Taste and season with more salt, pepper, soy sauce or Tabasco as needed. (Even if you don't like hot spices, try just a very little bit of Tabasco; It won't be "hot" and the recipe needs the kick!)
Using your hands, mush the mixture until it sticks together better; If it remains dry and crumbly, add a little vital wheat gluten flour, a teaspoon at a time, until mixture holds together. (I only have to do this about every fifth or sixth time I make them, it seems random!)

Then form the mixture into 4 (3-inch-wide) patties. Heat the remaining oil in the frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the patties to HOT oil and fry until the outsides are browned, about 5 to 6 minutes per side. Wait until they have started to form a crust and/or browned a bit before checking or turning, this will keep them from crumbling.

Serve on toasted ciabatta or burger rolls with your favorite toppings.

6 comments:

Bianca said...

Love homemade bean burgers!!

Tofu Mom (AKA Tofu-n-Sprouts) said...

THANKS Bianca!! I make these a lot - mainly 'cause I'm lazy and they're easy!!

Joey said...

I'm with Bianca - you can't go wrong with bean burgers. Cannellini or pinto get the thumbs up from me!

T.M. said...

Thank you for the great recipe! My mom is really picky and she LOVES these. We will be making them again and again.

Bird and Boy Photography said...

This looks so yummy! I have been looking at your blog. I love it :)

Check out mine if you have time:
www.veggieful.com

Margaret said...

Oh my love this post. I also wanted to lick the screen as I'm on day 22 of my 30-40 juice cleanse. Always looking for inspiration for meals to fix my family. Thank you!!
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