Last week, my husband actually challenged me to come up with a veggie or bean burger that I think he’ll enjoy. I keep playing with vegetarian food while he’s out of town working, but he’s really intrigued by the idea of an “alternative” burger. So my goal is to find one that tastes fantastic and has a texture similar to that of a standard beef hamburger. I suspect that’s going to be a pretty tall order. However, it will be fun experimenting and trying to find the right one.
Last night’s was the first attempt. We’d had a long, fun day, it was hot and muggy, and cooking just didn’t seem too exciting to me. I picked some lettuce from the garden and made a quick salad, made some mac-n-cheese for the kids, and then opened up the fridge to see what else I could top my salad with to make it a meal. I saw the container of black beans I’d cooked earlier in the week and remembered that I’d planned to make black bean burgers. A quick flip through my How To Cook Everything Vegetarian and I realized I could have one of the Simplest Bean Burgers in about 15 minutes, so I got that going. The only thing I wasn’t able to do was give my mixture some rest time. In retrospect- I think that rest is key to the texture. As it sauteed up in my skillet I was impressed by how “burger-like” it appeared. I decided to serve it on some semolina-sesame bread I had and top it with that yummy smoked-paprika mayo from the other day. At the last minute I added some cheddar cheese and some salmonella-free sliced tomato.
Taste-wise, the burger was delicious. The crispy bits around the edges were especially tasty, but overall, the flavor of the burger was wonderful and I think it could rival a real beef burger any day of the week. Texture wise though I had a few problems. Because I’d skipped the rest time, the oatmeal hadn’t had a chance to really start working, and I think as a result, it was much softer than I’d anticipated. It squished readily between my two slices of sturdy bread, but the flavor really more than made up for that- in my mind anyway. The smoked paprika mayo actually was perfect with the chili-powder infused beans, and I had a delicious last-minute dinner. I’m not entirely sure though that this is the burger for Andy. I have some of the bean mixture in the fridge, so we’ll see how it cooks up after a long rest, and that may help. But I think the search will continue, I’m determined to find the perfect bean burger.
The Simplest Bean Burgers
from How To Cook Everything Vegetarian by Mark Bittman
Combine the beans, onion, oats, chili powder, salt, pepper and egg in a food processor and pulse until chunky but not pureed, adding a little liquid if necessary (This is unlikely, but not impossible) to produce a moist but not wet mixture. Let the mixture rest for a few minutes if time allows.
With wet hands, shape into whatever size patties you want and again let rest for a few minutes of time allows. (You can make the burger mixture or even shape the burgers up to a day or so in advance. Just cover tightly and refrigerate, then bring everything back to room temperature before cooking.) Film the bottom of a large nonstick or well-seasoned cast iron skillet with oil and turn the heat to medium. A minute later, add the patties. Cook until nicely browned on one side, about 5 minutes; turn carefully and cook on the other side until firm and browned.
The Bittman recipe was extremely soft for me as well–even after a rest in the fridge. Enough so that it turned me off of continuing to use his basic recipe. But everyone on the CLBB loves it so maybe it was just us.
Laura, do you have a bean burger that you like?