Black Bean Burgers

Now that we're all aware how to prepare legumes, let's freaking cook some already.

On the left, we have a black bean burger atop a brown rice flatbread with parsley sauce, red chard, sliced calabazita verde (Mexican zucchini) and julienne onion. Below are the recipes for the burger and sauce. The flatbread is inspired by something we used to make at Great Taste Café. I've been baking flatbreads like crazy lately, experimenting to make it softer, fluffier, tastier. I'll publish the recipe here as soon as I perfect it.

Black Bean Burgers

1 C raw black beans

1/2 onion

2 cloves garlic

1 Tbs cumin

2 Tbs dried oregano

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp turmeric

Cook and mash the beans. Make sure they are fully drained before you mash them so that your burgers are not watery and do not fall apart. Dice the onion and garlic. Mix all the ingredients together with salt and pepper to taste.

Divide the burger mix into 6 to 9 equal portions (depending on how big your buns are). Fry the patties in oil in a hot pan. If you want a sturdier product, mix in one egg or 2 Tbl tapioca starch before cooking. These are vegan without the egg! Forget about firing up the grill. These are too fragile unless you want to cook them hobo-style inside of an aluminum foil pouch.

Parsley Sauce

1 bunch parsley

1/4 onion

2 Tbs apple cider vinegar

2 Tbs ketchup

2 Tbs dijon mustard

2 Tbs agave nectar

1 Tbs Sriracha hot sauce (or more)

1 Tbs mustard seeds

Toast the mustard seeds in a dry pan on high heat until they start to brown. With one knife cut, remove most of the stems from the parsley. Put the leaves in a food processor with all the other ingredients and a pinch of salt. Please don't bother to measure, just pour away. Process everything together until it takes on a pesto-like consistency. The addition of ketchup and mustard ensures this sauce won't clash with standard burger condiments.