Sunday, February 21, 2010

Roasted Vegetable Black Bean Burgers



Last week I worked on black bean burger recipes. I wanted something reliable and tasty, but was disappointed with the recipes I’d found and ended up taking a different route. 



I wanted a burger where the black beans and vegetables themselves shined, instead of existing as bland bulk covered up with cumin and chili powder for flavor. After several fails, I roasted the vegetables with much better results than chopped up raw ones. It’s an extra step, but not a difficult one.



Homemade vegetable burgers are softer than store bought because of the lack of textured vegetable protein. Keeping that in mind, choose or make a soft bun so your burger doesn’t squish out the sides when you take a bite.



Roasted Vegetable Black Bean Burgers
1 onion
1 bell pepper, any color
4 cloves garlic
½ cup frozen corn
Light olive oil
½ teaspoon salt
Fresh cracked pepper
Sprinkle of garlic powder
Sprinkle of onion powder
1 cup pulverized Keebler Club Crackers
2 (15 ounce) cans black beans, rinsed and drained well
2 teaspoons Tapatio Hot Sauce, or to taste

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees and line a rimmed baking sheet with foil.

2. Slice the onion and bell pepper into wide strips and place on the foil. Add the garlic and corn. Drizzle with enough light olive oil to coat well and season with ½ teaspoon salt, lots of fresh cracked pepper, and a good sprinkle of garlic powder and onion powder. Toss to coat.

3. Bake vegetables for 35 to 40 minutes tossing twice while cooking for even browning. Vegetables are done when there are some black spots and the vegetables are soft. Let cool on the baking sheet until about room temperature if you have time.

4. In a food processor, pulverize enough Keebler Club Crackers to make one cup. Place in a large bowl. Then add the rinsed and drained black beans to the food processor and pulse quickly two or three times, don’t crush all the black beans, just about 2/3rds of them. Place them in the bowl with the crackers.

5. Place the roasted vegetables in the food processor and process until chopped into very small pieces. Add to the bowl and add the hot sauce. Mix everything together gently with a spoon and taste for seasoning. Important: Add more salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and/or hot sauce to taste here.

6. Brush a nonstick skillet or preferably a cast iron griddle with oil and heat to medium. Scoop the mixture into patties and pat to shape as you cook. Cook each side until a nice crust forms.

7. Serve with soft buns and condiments of your choice.

Notes: If you have a bread machine it's super easy to make your own buns. Recipe from the picture is here.

Recipe and photograph by Laura Flowers.


28 comments:

Deana Sidney said...

the keebler crackers are a new addition..what a cool idea.. and, of course... great photo!

Federica Simoni said...

wow che buono!! bravissima!!! baci!

Sue said...

Whoa, I'd love to sink my teeth into that burger right about NOW! I made a black bean burger in the past and it was pretty tasty:) I think the recipe was from the L.A. Times.

Memória said...

What a beautiful, yummy-looking black bean burger!! I've yet to make one from scratch, so I think I will try out this recipe when I do. Excellent photo as usual.

skr said...

Mmmm! Beautiful looking photo, scrumptious looking burger! ;]

Sook said...

I love healthy recipes like this. The burger looks wonderful! Thanks for sharing.

Baking is my Zen...sweet nibbles for the soul said...

Burger looks great. A must try!

Also, CONGRATS on winning the Cake Off!

and...one more thing...

YOU WON the Baking is my Zen T-shirt and Calendar Giveaway!

Carmen
Baking is my Zen
2/22/10

http://bakingismyzen.blogspot.com/2010/02/laura-cooking-photographer-winner-of.html

Jackie said...

This sounds/looks scrumpious!
Hope your weekend was good and enjoy your week....70's here this week! :}

Anonymous said...

No help with the typos, just to tell you that I have seen this recipe before. You shouldn't be taking credit for it!

The Cooking Photographer said...

Anonymous,

First, you should be less of a chicken and leave contact information. Second, I never ever steal the work of anyone and always cite my sources. You have NOT seen this recipe before. You may have seen something similar, there are a lot of black bean burger recipes out there, but this is my own recipe and my own writing.

Unlike you, I have integrity. And unlike you, I also have guts.

Laura

Velva said...

Your black bean burgers look like they have a lot of flavor which makes them a good healthy alternative hamburgers.

Vrinda said...

Thats a picture perfect burger....yumm

Esi said...

I love the idea of roasting the veg before you make the burger. Roasting makes every vegetable better.

Pink Little Cake said...

ok, now I am mad. Is there a loser out there with nothing better to do? I did get a hurtful comment on my new blog design , I don't get it. I love your attitude Laura!

In a positive note: I love this burger, I am not a vegetable lover but this is something I have to try, I love the use of black beans on it. Take care

Mimi said...

Way to go girl!
I love roasted veggie and black beans. This burger looks delicious.
Mimi

Sarah said...

Yum! I a chipolte black bean veggie burger at lunch the other day. It was delicious! Good to know I can make them at home :)

Trissa said...

Laura, just read what anonymous said above - I think you are COMPLETELY 100% right! Shame on him/her for accusing you of that!

Anyway, the burger looks delicious - how interesting you use crackers as well in the recipe!

Diana's Cocina said...

Laura~you go girl!

And to anonymous ~ really!! come on now!

I love the idea of the crackers, great recipe.

VegeCooking Club said...

I can't believe I still haven't made a black bean burger. I have been eyeing them for so long.

As Nike says... I should "Just do it".

These look awesome.

Namitha said...

What a wonderful burger..Loved this healthy version of yours :-)

Lisa said...

I've been looking for a healthy veggie burger recipe. This sounds exactly like what I need. Can't wait to make these. Yum, I love all the delicious ingredients!

Southern Cookbook said...

Congrads on the cake off Laura! This black bean burger looks awesome. I would like to try this. Thanks for the post. Awesome photo my friend.

Xiaolu @ 6 Bittersweets said...

What a yummy sounding burger and great idea to roast the veggies. I'm definitely filing this away for later :).

Patricia @ ButterYum said...

These sound yummy, but do you think the club crackers offset the healthy black beans? Tee-hee.

:)
ButterYum

Roxan said...

Thank you for this recipe! It was delicious. I made a huge batch and leftovers are in the freezer for quick lunches :)

I'm writing up my blog right now and came back to this entry so I could give you proper credit and I just noticed that the recipe calls for TWO cans of beans. I only used one! :-) Turned out fabulous anyways. Can't wait to make another of your recipes!

The Cooking Photographer said...

Hi Roxan,

Thank-you for making these! I'm really happy you liked this one well enough to blog it too.

Thank-you!
Laura

Roxan said...

No problem! I am happy to try out any recipe you post LOL :) Btw - my entry is up. I linked to your recipe and page at the end of the entry. did I credit you properly? Forgive me - I'm pretty new to this thing!

Anonymous said...

These were so good! Soft buns would have worked better than the toasted bread we had because then the patties wouldn't have fallen out. So, use whatever buns you want, just maybe don't have these for a formal occasion:). Once again, these are SO GOOD and will be made again!

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