Black Bean Burgers

OK, OK I'm a little late in the burger post, since most people probably did their burger-grilling yesterday.  But it's summer, which means you never really put the grill away--and these vegetarian burgers can actually be baked as well.  Just giving you all some options!

Bobby and I love all kinds of burgers--beef, bison, turkey, salmon, and our new favorite--black bean burgers.  Oddly enough, Bobby picked up this recipe at our gym--the little Orlando Health Wellness Center.  Every month they post a featured recipe--and Bobby brought this one home one day.  It's a little spicy--but a lot of the spice could easily be omitted too.

So if you didn't get your burger-fill over the July 4th holiday, give these a try soon!  

And on a side note--we had a laid back 4th (which I guess is just kind of what happens when it's mid-week).  Bobby was on call in the ICU overnight on the 3rd so he napped most of the day, and then later he grilled some chimichurri-marinated chicken tenders, and we paired that with chips and homemade guacamole, watermelon, and lemon bars.  Putting in a plug for some past blog oldies-but-goodies.

Black Bean Burgers

• 1 16oz can of black beans, drained and rinsed

• 1/2 green bell pepper, cut into 2in pieces

• 1/2 onion, cut into wedges

• 3 cloves of garlic, peeled

• 1 egg

• 1 Tbs chili powder

• 1 Tbs cumin

• 1 tsp Thai Chili Sauce or hot sauce

• 1/2 cup bread crumbs (we use Panko)

If you're grilling outdoors, pre-heat your grill on high and lightly oil a sheet of heavy-duty aluminum foil.  If you're baking, pre-heat the oven to 375 and lightly PAM a baking sheet.

In a medium bowl, mash the black beans with a fork (or a potato masher, in my case) until they're thick and pasty.

Then, in a food processor (or blender if you don't have one--or you could hand-chop if you were really committed), process the bell pepper, onion and garlic.  Stir that mixture into the beans.

In a small bowl, stir together the egg, chili powder, cumin, and chili sauce--and then add to the bean mixture.  Mix in Panko or bread crumbs until the mixture is sticky and holds together pretty well.  Divide it into four patties.

If grilling, place patties on foil and grill about 8 minutes on each side.  If baking, place patties on the baking sheet and bake them for about 10 minutes on each side.

As you can see from the photo, we like to have these with whole wheat buns, fresh spinach leaves, a slice of tomato, and a tick topping of hummus (we prefer the Publix-brand roasted red pepper hummus for added flavor).  With the hummus, you really don't need to add any cheese.  If you do want cheese--I'd omit the hummus and add a slice of pepper jack.  Or you could do a regular hummus and some crumbled feta.  Just some ideas to keep it interesting!