It’s worth managing expectations in these times when so-called plant-based burgers are flooding the stores. A bean burger doesn’t try to pretend it’s meat, so it’s important to emphasize that this is a plant burger, and tastes like vegetables.
Ingredients
- 250 g dried black eyed beans
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 2 medium carrots, grated
- 70 g zucchini, grated
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp dried coriander
- 1 chili or to taste
- 2 garlic cloves or to taste
- a pinch of salt
- about 50 g corn
- fresh cilantro
- 50 g millet flakes. I haven't tried anything else here, but assume you could use chickpea flour or wheat flour if you can't find millet flakes.
- polenta
- sweet potato
- olive oil
- rapeseed oil
Instructions
Start by frying the turmeric and dried coriander in a pan with a little olive oil. Add garlic and chili, cook for a couple of minutes. Do the same with the chopped onion, then carrots and zucchini, and finally the corn. Use an immersion blender or food processor and blend the beans to a smooth consistency. Mix well with the other ingredients in the pan. Add chopped fresh cilantro and the millet flakes and mix well again. Let the mixture cool down so you can shape it into burgers. To do this, use a baking sheet that you sprinkle generously with polenta. Then take a handful of the mixture and shape it into a burger with your hands. It helps to use a burger press or cookie cutter if you have one to press the burger perfectly. Sprinkle more polenta on top and let the burgers chill in the refrigerator for 15-30 minutes. Set the oven to 160°C convection. Then cut the sweet potato into wedges, use a bag to toss with a couple of tablespoons of olive oil. Spread evenly on a baking sheet and place at the bottom of the oven. They can stay for up to an hour if you turn them occasionally. When the burgers have rested in the fridge, take them out and fry them for about 2 minutes on each side in a frying pan with a little rapeseed oil. Then place them on a baking sheet and let them sit in the middle of the oven for about 20 minutes.
Serve preferably on homemade spelt buns (as in the picture) with "classic" burger toppings, which for me is mustard on the bottom bun, tomato slices, raw onion rings, lettuce, burger, pickles, and on the top bun - some drizzles of sriracha sauce.