Recipe of the Week: Black Bean Burgers

[piggy]

The other day, I was eavesdropping at a health fair. A mother waved in the direction of her teenage daughter and exclaimed to a nutritionist, "You talk to her. She doesn't eat anything!"

It turned out that the girl is vegetarian, her mother is not, and the latter won't cook anything that is meat-free. The daughter was on her own, and she didn't know what to do.

That got me thinking about the many people I've met along the way who would ask, "But what do you eat?" No matter what I answered, I always received dubious stares. I mean, how can you have a meal without meat? What do I do about protein?

I know I don't need to preach to any of you about how tasty vegan eating can be. For those of you starting out or who are maybe in a bit of a slump, I thought I'd create a weekly post with a recipe. I'll try to get it at the beginning of Sunday, so you have time to run out for groceries, if necessary.

This week's recipe: Black Bean Burgers
(modified from How It All Vegan)

Ingredients

• 1 small onion, finely chopped
  
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
  
• 1/2 t. dried oregano
  
• 2 c. cooked black beans
  
• 1/2 c. corn niblets
  
• 1/2 c. bread crumbs
  
• 1/4 t. cumin
  
• 1/2 t. salt
  
• 2 t. chili powder
  
• 1/2 c. flour
  
• olive oil
  

Directions

1. Sautee onions and oregano in oil (about 1 T.) until onions are translucent. Add garlic and sautee for another minute. Remove from heat.
   
2. In a large bowl, mash beans with a fork. Stir in corn, bread crumbs, cumin, salt and chili powder.
   
3. Form four patties. Coat in flour.
   
4. Preheat a pan on medium heat. Add about 1 T. oil and burger patty. Cook for three minutes on each side.
   
5. Eat. Try not to let eyes roll to the back of your head.
   

Nutritional Info (per burger)
Calories: 260.7
Total Fat: 2.6 g.
Saturated: .5 g
Polyunsaturated: 1.1 g
Monounsaturated: .5 g
Sodium: 576.8 mg
Potassium: 463.4 mg
Total Carbohydrate: 49.0 g
Dietary Fiber: 10.6 g
Sugars: 1.1 g
Protein: 12.2 g

I might post pictures later, if I manage to get to my camera before the burger gets to my mouth.

Comments

[treow]

Nom! I've been wanting to make black bean burgers from scratch for a long time now. This might be my inspiration. Thanks! :)