Spicy Black Bean Burgers and Sweet Potato Fries
The weather has been so summer like the past few days and it got me in the mood for a typical summer night dinner…burgers! But not just any burgers [because those are boring], spicy black bean burgers. Added bonus – I had sweet potatoes in the fridge so I could give my first batch of sweet potato fires a try.
For the burger – I pretty much followed Jenna’s recipe, except I subbed quinoa for Panko. [these are protein packed gluten free burgers!] I also added a little red onion.
Luckily my food processor showed up!
There were quite a lot of beans, so I had to mix them in the processor in batches – My little chopper friend was getting a workout, that’s for sure!
I put the mix in the fridge for a few minutes to “harden” up a bit – it seemed a little to wet to form into patties at first.
I also had a hard time cooking them in a pan [I am handicapped when it comes to flipping anything], so instead, I baked them in the oven
For the fries – I just sliced up the sweet potatoes drizzled with EVOO + salt and popped them in the over for 13 mins at 450 – then flipped. I think they are better when they are a little charred. [I’m not just saying that because some most of mine turned out that way]
Verdict: Delicious! A little crumbly, but I didn’t mind that because I didn’t have mine on a bun. Maybe the Panko would help them stick together better.
Level: Easy, as long as you have a processor or blender, otherwise mashing the beans by hand would totally blow.
Make Again: Oh, For Sure! The fries were great [and healthier] and the burgers make great salad toppers for lunch the rest of the week, I love repurposing leftovers!
Ingredients:
2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed
1 T ground flax + 3 T water
1 jalapeno
2 cloves garlic
2 T tomato sauce
1/2 cup Panko breadcrumbs
2 tsp cumin
1 1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup corn (fresh or frozen and defrosted)
avocado for topping
olive oil (or canola oil) for frying burgers
Directions
Seed and roughly chop jalapeno. Add it and the garlic cloves to a food processor (or high speed blender) and mince finely. (Alternatively, you could chop them yourselves very finely but it’s just easier at this point to throw them in a food processor.)
Add one can of beans to the jalapeno/garlic mixture and pulse to combine. Add cumin and salt and pulse until mixture resembles chunky black bean dip.
In a small bowl, mix together the ground flax and water. Let sit for five minutes.
Transfer the mixture in the food processor to a large bowl and stir in the bread crumbs, tomato sauce, flax and corn. Stir well until everything is combined. Add remaining black beans.
Heat a little olive oil in a skillet on medium high heat. Form black bean mixture into patties and fry for about 4 minutes per side, until golden and crusty brown.
Serve burgers with avocado slices, sriracha and ketchup.
