Vegan Black Bean Burgers on Pretzel Rolls & A Short Rant about Sandra Lee

Some of you may be familiar with the (perhaps lovably) inane television food personality Sandra Lee. Notwithstanding her extremely questionable taste in, well, everything and her complete failure to comprehend the term "home-made," I have to credit her for the base recipe for these yummy, healthy black bean burgers. (I know, this closely parallels a previous rant I posted about Rachael Ray, but this one is way better because of all the evidence. And also funnier. See links).

I can't say they're 100% better than the quinoa burgers I attempted recently, since these are still fairly soft, and a bit squishy. As a pick-it-up-and-put-it-in-your-face burger, they would be a bit disappointing, but this recipe makes a lovely flavorful knife-and-fork-style burger. I also think the flavor is much more appealing than the quinoa burgers were.

My version of the black bean burgers uses whole wheat bread crumbs, plenty of cilantro and fresh, yummy bakery rolls instead of burger buns. I've basically halved Sandra's recipe, except for the egg. I skipped the egg, since I realized rather late in the game that we were out. (I know, what kind of weirdo had ground flax on hand, but not eggs? Apparently, this kind.) I learned, though, that you can use 1 tbsp of ground flax seed simmered in 3 tbsp of water as an egg substitute. Brilliant!

Ingredients:

1 can black beans, thoroughly rinsed and drained, divided into 2 equal portions

1/4 yellow onion, coarsely chopped
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

1/4 cup bread crumbs

2 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped 

1 tbsp ground flax simmered in 3 tbsp water, or 1 egg

Directions:

1. Place garlic and onion in food processor, and blend until finely chopped.

2. Add cilantro, onion, pepper flakes, egg or egg replacement, and about half of the beans, and blend.

3. Dump mixture into a large bowl. Add the rest of the beans and the bread crumbs, and mix thoroughly. Form into two patties.

4. Cook burgers on oiled grill pan or George Foreman Grill until slightly charred outside and heated throughout. 

Serve on a lightly toasted bun with your favorite burger toppings. I recommend chipotle mayonnaise.  True, it is another step to mix the whole beans in separately, but I think it does great things for the texture.

I served these on something new to me, pretzel bread rolls. AMAZING. How did I not know that these existed? They were deliciously moist and, well, pretzeley. I whipped up a chipotle mayonnaise (one chipotle pepper canned in adobo sauce sent for a spin with some mayo) which went fabulously with the burgers. We had ours with a little baby spinach on top, and a tomato-cucumber salad on the size.

If you're looking for a meaty texture, these are not the thing. Or do us both a favor and improve my recipe! As long as you don't mind using a fork, these are fabulous.

Quinoa Garden Burgers

Despite our omnivorousness, Brady and I are always interested in vegetarian (and sometimes even vegan) food options. Even if you love chicken and beef, a little variety is nice, right? For us, eating meat only 3-4 days per week is part of our small-time effort to be more Earthdwellers. So when we started trying meat-free burgers made with veggie protein and the like, I started to think, why can't I make these? I can make these, right? I'm making these.

Well, I was half right. I made them. They were tasty, but they were not what I would call a "burger." More like quinoa falafel. They were fragile, and too soft to be eaten in a bun. I think I had all the right ingredients happening, but perhaps in the wrong ratios. Also, the addition of black or pinto beans would do a great deal to improve their solidity. I was going for the "vegan" thing with these, so I used ground flax instead of egg as a binding ingredient. With about 1/2 cup of beans and an egg or two, these would be a much more solid patty. Hindsight is 20-20.

I used quinoa as a base because of its protein, fiber, and  hearty texture. I happened to have a little pearled barley hanging around from some more wintry recipes, which I decided to add, but I think you could use all quinoa, increase the barley ratio, or use a mixture of quinoa and brown rice.

Ingredients:

1 cup cooked quinoa 

3 1/2 tablespoons ground flax

1/2 onion 

2 cloves garlic, smashed and coarsely chopped

1/2 red bell pepper, coarsely chopped

1/2 green bell pepper, coarsely chopped

1/2 - 1 chipotle chili canned in adobo sauce (optional)

4 oz fresh, clean mushrooms, coarsely chopped

1/3 cup - 3/4 cup whole wheat bread crumbs

small handful cilantro, torn

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

Salt and pepper

Olive oil

Directions:

1. In a food processor, combine the garlic, salt and pepper, a drizzle of olive oil, the onion, cayenne, ground flax, cilantro, and chipotle chili if you're using one. Combine well.

2. Add bell pepper, onion, and mushrooms. Process until veggies are chopped - not liquefied.

3. Dump the contents of the food processor out into a large bowl, and mix in the quinoa. Sprinkle in breadcrumbs until the mixture is just solid enough to form into patties. Mix well, and form into patties.

4. Cook garden burger patties in a grill pan for 8-10 minutes each side over medium heat, or cook them in a George Foreman Grill for about 8-10 minutes total. Serve on a bun or in a pita with veggies or a yogurt sauce.

I served these on burger buns with a super simple tzatziki sauce and steamed green beans on the side. Besides eggs lurking in the buns, and the tzatziki (which is easily swapped out for lettuce and tomato, or an animal-free topping like salsa) this is a vegan meal.

In the end, these weren't what I was going for, but if you made them as mini-patties and served them in a pita, they would be just as delightfully delicious as the dish I had imagined.

Quote of the Day: CBS has no problem with airing commercial after commercial advocating the consumption of fried chicken, pork sausage and fast-food burgers, even though eating these products are making Americans fat, sick and boring in bed. ~ Lisa Lange

NOTE: I have to say, since Lisa Lange is a well-known figure and the VP of PETA, I do not support or advocate for PETA in any way. I believe there is a relatively humane and compassionate way to enjoy reasonable amounts of meat in our diets, and I am a really big fan of animals in general. This quote is funny and poignant, but I do not support the guilt, exaggeration, and fear-mongering perpetrated by PETA. Of course, we all have our own feelings on the topic and must do our own research and make the decisions that are best for us and our families.