Spicy Black Bean Burgers with Green Chile Yogurt
June 2, 2011 § 6 Comments
I impressed tonight with these simple yet incredibly flavorful black bean burgers. I’ve decided pita bread is the ultimate bun for a veggie burger–a thicker bread with a beany burger is just a little too much starch in one place. I’ve also recently discovered a secret weapon: smoked paprika. The more I experiment with this ingredient, the more I appreciate its contribution to vegetarian dishes–especially those aspiring to be ‘meaty’. The green chile yogurt sauce pushes it over the edge. This burger is one that may be thrown together in a hurry, but tastes good enough to sit down and savor until you forget why you were in a hurry in the first place. If I had a food truck, it’d be one of my staples.
What you need:
Black Bean Burgers
- 1 can black beans
- white onion
- garlic
- bread crumbs
- 1 egg
- hot sauce
- cayenne pepper
- smoked paprika
- olive oil
- s&p
- whole wheat pita
Green Chile Yogurt
- greek yogurt
- roasted green chiles (1 small can)
- lime (juice and zest)
- cilantro
- sugar
- s&p
What you do:
*Both the black bean patties and green chile yogurt may be made ahead and refrigerated until you’re ready to fire up the burgers.
For the burgers, combine 1 can black beans (drained and rinsed), half an onion (finely chopped), 1-2 cloves garlic (finely chopped), and 1/2 c bread crumbs in a large bowl. In a smaller bowl, combine 1 egg, 1 t hot sauce, 1/4 t cayenne pepper, and 1/4 t smoked paprika. Whisk to combine, then add the wet mixture to the dry ingredients. Blend the combined mixture using an immersion blender or food processor. Divide mixture into 4 burger-shaped patties.
For the green chile yogurt sauce, simply combine a few heaping T greek yogurt, the zest and juice of half a lime, about 1 T roasted green chiles, some chopped cilantro, a pinch of salt and pepper, and a pinch or two of sugar to balance out the flavors.
Heat 1-2 T olive oil in a non-stick skillet or grill pan over medium-high. Season the burgers with salt and pepper and add them to a hot pan, cooking about 4 min on the first side and about 3 min on the other side, or until each side is golden brown.
Serve the burgers in whole wheat pitas with a generous helping of the green chile yogurt sauce.
this is the best burger i’ve had in a while. half with the sauce, half doused in ketchup. it can’t get better.
Yeah, it’s really hard to leave ketchup out of the equation. I have a Jamie Oliver recipe for a homemade ketchup, you know. Could be really good…
These burgers and this sauce are absurdly good. The burgers possess qualities rarely found in veggie burgers–they are well-bound and not subject to crumbling, they are full-flavored and not beany in the slightest, and they hit the same savory notes as a fine beef patty (courtesy of the smoked paprika, as noted by MOL). The sauce … oh the sauce. An achievement on par with the creation of the aqueduct. Although it’s very flattering of the burger, I look forward to new applications–it’s quite versatile.
I should probably go ahead and hire you as MOL chief writer. I would preserve my right to edit though. The aqueduct bit, for example, is a little much.
Also–wonder if I could substitute some cooked quinoa in for the bread crumbs (a la marathon burger at BurgerUp)…may have to come out with a V.2
I cannot wait to try this recipe. Thank you, My Oven Light!
I think you would like the agua fresca too.