black bean burgers
I can be such a slacker.
Last week, I had to move into the guest room because a pile of laundry (clean, I swear!) had taken over the bed. I subsisted on packages of Trader Joe’s chile and cheese tamales enrobed in a packets of luscious Taco Bell Mild Sauce, plenty of griddled bean and cheese quesadillas, shreds of tortilla raked through store-bought hummus, meals delivered in styrofoam take-out boxes, even a package of instant ramen. And then there was that potluck to which everyone ended up bringing a dessert, and lots of beer.
It was great! But unsustainable. I start to miss the vegetables.
Healthy, quick, easy, cheap, and delicious recipes, like the one for this black bean burger, will shove me, gently, back into the kitchen.
the recipe
Black Bean Burgers
this mixture gets watery in the fridge, so I'd recommend cooking all of them at once and refrigerating any leftovers to be reheated later
- 1 (12-ounce) can 340 g black beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 cooked potato, soft enough to mash
- 1 small onion, finely minced
- 1 small bell pepper, finely minced
- 1 large clove of garlic, finely minced
- 1 ear corn, shaved from the ear, about 1/2 a cup of kernels
- juice of 1/2 a small lime
- 2 teaspoons to 1 tablespoon 10–15 mL cumin, to taste
- pinch cayenne
- 1/2 teaspoon 2.5 g coarse salt
- 1/3 cup 45 g cornmeal
- 1/2 jalapeno, minced, optional, but tasty
- a couple tablespoons about 30 mL cilantro, chopped, optional, but tasty
- In a large bowl, use your hands (or a masher if you're feeling extra-civilized) to mash together black beans and the potato.
- Add the rest of the ingredients, mashing together until well-combined.
- Form into patties.
- Put a skillet over medium heat; fry patties in a bit of oil until crispy on both sides.
each column is one step, working left to right — hover a cell for the full instruction
this mixture gets watery in the fridge, so I'd recommend cooking all of them at once and refrigerating any leftovers to be reheated later
- 1 (12-ounce) can 340 g black beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 cooked potato, soft enough to mash
- 1 small onion, finely minced
- 1 small bell pepper, finely minced
- 1 large clove of garlic, finely minced
- 1 ear corn, shaved from the ear, about 1/2 a cup of kernels
- juice of 1/2 a small lime
- 2 teaspoons to 1 tablespoon 10–15 mL cumin, to taste
- pinch cayenne
- 1/2 teaspoon 2.5 g coarse salt
- 1/3 cup 45 g cornmeal
- 1/2 jalapeno, minced, optional, but tasty
- a couple tablespoons about 30 mL cilantro, chopped, optional, but tasty
In a large bowl, use your hands (or a masher if you're feeling extra-civilized) to mash together black beans and the potato.
Add the rest of the ingredients, mashing together until well-combined.
Form into patties.
Put a skillet over medium heat; fry patties in a bit of oil until crispy on both sides.
— adapted slightly from Nate Beaty