Simply: Home Cooking

Black Bean Burgers

Always on the lookout for vegetarian recipes as Lent approaches.... These burgers are quick to put together if you have cooked beans on hand!

Approximately 12 patties.

Ingredients:

• 4 c cooked black beans, rinsed and well drained—reserve the broth
• 2 T olive oil
• 1 yellow or white onion, cut into small dice
• 1 red or green bell pepper, cut into small dice
• 1 c fresh or frozen corn kernels
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1 T chili powder or up to 1 tsp ground chili pepper
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 c chopped cilantro or minced parsley
• 1 cup dried bread crumbs or 2 c fresh
• salt/pepper to taste
• extra dry bread crumbs or flour
• extra olive oil for pan-frying

Method:

1. Mash the beans with a fork or potato masher, or pulse in a food processor—don’t make into a paste, or the patties will fall apart too easily.
2. Heat the oil in a cast iron skillet or sauté pan over medium high heat. Sauté the onion, belle pepper, and corn until the onion is transluscent. Add the oregano, cumin, coriander, chili powder, and garlic, and sauté briefly.
3. Combine the beans, sautéed vegetables, and cilantro in a bowl. Add just enough bread crumbs to make a stiff paste—the amount needed will vary greatly based on how wet the beans are. If necessary, add a bit of the bean broth to moisten if the mixture is too dry. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
4. Put the extra crumbs or flour in a shallow dish. Use a 1/4 c or a 2-oz scoop to drop the mixture into the crumbs. Roll around to coat thoroughly, then use your hands to gently press into a 1/2” thick patty.
5. Using a clean skillet, heat approximately 1/4 c olive oil just until it shimmers—don’t let it smoke. Cook the patties in batches, approximately 3 m per side or until lightly browned. Drain briefly on a paper-towel lined plate before serving.

Variations:

• Substitute other beans, depending on what you have on hand. You can match the herbs/spices to the type of beans used: basil/sage with cannellini beans; curry powder with chickpeas, etc.
• Add 1-2 minced chili peppers with the bell peppers.
  Serve as a vegetarian burger with your favorite fixings or as a room-temperature sandwich filling for lunch the next day.
• The patties can be chopped up and reheated in a bit of butter for a great hash, or you can use them for a southwestern-style Eggs Benedict base.
• The mixture also makes a good vegetarian “meatball:” roll into small balls rather than forming patties, roll around quickly in hot olive oil in a skillet, then finish by baking in an oven-proof dish at 400°F for approximately 15-20 m until heated through.

Do ahead:

• The patties can be made through step 4 up to 48 h in advance and kept between layers of wax paper in a tightly covered container in the refrigerator. If they seem damp when you take them out, simply coat again with crumbs or flour before cooking as in step 5.
• If you have leftover patties or you choose to cook them through completely, let them cool to room temperature before storing in a tightly covered container in the fridge for up to 1 week. Reheat gently at 250°F until warmed through.
• Uncooked or cooked patties can be frozen up to 6 months between layers of wax paper in a tightly covered container. Thaw overnight, then reheat gently at 250°F until warmed through (for cooked) or coat again with crumbs or flour and cook as in step 5 (for uncooked).

Download Black Bean Burgers

Roasting Peppers

Roasted peppers (both sweet bell and spicy chile varieties) are a useful basic ingredient to keep on hand. Their smoky flavor enhances all sorts of dishes: vegetable and grain salads, pizzas, fajitas, burritos, casseroles, pilafs.... You can roast a batch in advance and keep them in a tightly covered jar in the refrigerator for up to a month.

Here I give two methods to roast peppers - I find the first easier and cleaner, as well as more efficient when you are roasting more than one pepper, but there are those who swear that you will lose too much of the juice this way. If you have a gas stove and are roasting just one pepper, this is a quick method to use.

Look for peppers with thick flesh - these will stand up better to the high heat involved in roasting. Make sure you turn your exhaust fan on before starting the roasting process.

Broiler method:

• Turn the broiler onto high heat and line a broiler pan with a sheet of aluminum foil.
• Wash and pat the peppers dry, then cut each pepper in 1/2 and pull out the seeds. (If you're using chile peppers, wear gloves or wash your hands carefully after handling, and don't touch your eyes, nose, or mouth before doing so.)
• Place the peppers cut side down on the broiler pan.
• Broil approximately 1" away from the flame until the skin is charred and blistered - this will take about 5-10 m, depending on the intensity of your broiler. Start checking at 1 m intervals after 5 m, but don't remove until the skin is completely black.
• Remove from the broiler and gently bring the corners of the foil together to make a loose package.

Stovetop method:

• This method will only work for gas stoves, and you have to have the sort of grill over the burner that will allow a pepper to rest on it without falling through or rolling. Test this by placing a raw whole pepper on the grill directly over the burner - the pepper should not slip down to touch the burner, neither should it roll away from the burner.
• Wash and pat the pepper dry, leaving it whole.
• Light the burner, then use long tongs to place a pepper on the grill directly over the flame. Adjust the flame so that it comes within 1/2 - 1" below the pepper.
• Let the skin char and blister on that side, then turn the pepper to another side.
• Continue charring each side until the entire pepper is black.
• Place in a bowl and cover with a clean towel.

Peeling and storing:

• Let cool enough to handle, then peel the skin away from the flesh - it should come away easily. Cut whole peppers in 1/2 and remove the seeds. Remove the stems.
• Leave the halves intact, cut into strips, or dice, then put in a glass jar or container. Cool to room temperature. Pour enough olive oil over the peppers so that no part of the peppers pokes through the oil. Cover tightly and refrigerate. The oil will solidify and form a protective barrier so that the peppers last longer.