Meat Free Monday One day a week can make a world of difference

Scarlet Black Bean Burger

Linda Soper-Kolton
  • Serves: 8-10 burgers
  • Preparation: 10
  • Cooking: 30
  • Passive: 5
  • Ready: 45

Easy to make homemade burgers with a smoky flavour and chunky texture.

Ingredients

For the burgers

  • 2 tablespoons of oil for baking tray
  • 1 medium beet, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces, about 1 cup
  • 2 medium carrots, peeled (or leave unpeeled) and cut into 1-inch pieces, about 1 cup
  • 1 small onion, peeled, cut into chunks
  • 140 g/5 oz white or cremini mushrooms (half of a standard 10-ounce package)
  • 3 large cloves garlic, peeled
  • 1 cup old fashioned oats
  • ½ cup walnuts
  • 2 teaspoons chili powder
  • 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 400 g (15.5-ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
  •  ½ cup vegan mayonnaise

To serve

  • buns
  • lettuce
  • tomato
  • avocado
  • your favourite sauce

Method

Preheat oven to 190°C/375°F/gas mark 5. Line a baking tray with parchment paper. Brush or spread the oil on the parchment paper and set aside.

Place beets, carrots, onion, mushrooms, and garlic in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until finely chopped. Empty into a large bowl. Next, place oats, walnuts, chili powder, paprika, cumin, and salt into the processor and pulse several times, leaving some texture to the nuts and oats. Empty into bowl with beet mixture. Finally, place beans and mayonnaise in the processor and pulse to combine, leaving some texture to the beans. Empty into the bowl with the other ingredients and mix everything together.

Using a medium portion scoop or ⅓ measuring cup to scoop mixture onto the prepared baking tray. Use an offset spatula or knife to flatten and create uniform burgers that are 1 ½ inches thick and about 3 to 4 inches wide. Place tray in oven and bake for about 30 minutes. Remove tray from oven and let burgers sit for about 5 minutes to set. Serve alone or on buns with all of the fixings.

Additional notes

Recipe courtesy of Linda Soper-Kolton from the cookbook Compassionate Cuisine: 125 Plant-Based Recipes from our Vegan Kitchen (Skyhorse Publishing, 2019). Photo credit: Alexandra Shytsman.

Compassionate Cuisine is produced by Catskill Animal Sanctuary based in Saugerties, New York. The Catskill Sanctuary also run a mentor programme New Leaf. The New Leaf Vegan Mentor Program combines the proven effectiveness of one-on-one mentor relationships, the power of superior online matching technology and knowledge gained from a successful vegan-mentoring pilot program to help people commit to vegan living.

“Veggie burgers are a healthy and compassionate way to include variety and flavour in your plant-based diet. Flexibility and creativity are hallmarks of homemade burgers. Use what you have on hand, substitute what you like for what you don’t, and make the spices and flavours work for you. The delightfully chunky texture comes from humble whole foods like mushrooms, oats, walnuts, and black beans. Beets provide earthy flavour, pinkish colour and are high in immune-boosting vitamin C, fibre, and essential minerals. Even the most committed beet-haters won’t be able to discern their flavour here, but they’ll enjoy the wholesome taste and benefit from the nutrients. A few simple spices lend a subtle, smoky flavour. Baked in the oven, these burgers are ample, satisfying, and hold together on a bun or on a bed of salad greens.

Experiment by substituting your favourite beans, vegetables, and spices to make an endless variety of burgers – just keep the proportions relatively similar and the sky is the limit! Serve these with your favourite sauce or a few slices of creamy avocado to complete the experience.

Refrigerate leftover cooked burgers for up to 5 days, or freeze between layers of parchment paper in a covered container.”

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