Chipotle Black Bean Burgers
You’re gonna have to take my word for it that there’s a burger hidden in that pita and underneath that mess of arugula and crazy avalanche of feta. It’s there and it’s a darn tasty one, too, especially when you’re living in the land of no-Angus, as I am in here in Paris.
Enter the black bean burger – a little number I whipped up the other night with leftover black beans and rice along with a few other things — so easy, people!
I thought about going to the boulangerie and picking up some brioche buns but that would make the whole meal super-bready and I’ve been trying to cut back on the bread lately…well, kinda sorta, if you don’t count the pain au chocolat I had for breakfast and the chouquettes I snacked on before that. Truth be told, I was too lazy to make that loooong, 2 minute walk, so I made do with the pita bread that I had on hand. It worked just fine, and I piled on the sweet potato fries instead.
I do love the sweet potato, as anyone who knows me knows oh too well. I make fries like this – in smallish cubes — because they cook faster, but what I really want is to be able to cut them into those waffle shapes like they have at Goodfriend’s in Dallas, my new favorite burger spot. I’m serious. I want to make sweet potato waffle fries at home. I think if I could do this, my life would be complete.
Chipotle Black Bean Burgers
Makes 5 burgers
- 2 ½ cups/430 grams of black beans (if using canned, be sure to drain and rinse them)
- 1 cup/195 grams of cooked brown rice
- 1 clove of garlic, minced
- ¼ of a yellow onion, diced
- ½ cup/63 grams of toasted walnuts, roughly chopped
- 2 chipotle chiles (in adobo), finely chopped
- ½ teaspoon of cumin
- ¼ teaspoon of sea salt
- 1 to 2 tablespoons of olive oil
- 5 halves of pita bread, for serving
- 3 ounces/80 grams of arugula, for serving
- 5 ounces/150 grams of feta, crumbled
1. In a medium-size bowl, mash your black beans and rice together with a hand potato masher — you want them to stay somewhat chunky.
2. Add the garlic, onion, walnuts, chipotles, cumin, salt and pepper. Mix this up and with an ice cream scoop, make burger patties and put them on a cookie sheet in the fridge so they’ll firm up a bit until you’re ready to cook them.
3. Put the olive oil in a large skillet and turn the heat to medium-high. Add the burgers and cook for 4 to 5 minutes on each side, turning the heat down to medium low so they cook all the way through. Serve in a pita (or on a bigger, bready item) with arugula and feta.
