Spicy Bean Burgers

Vegan

These can be as mellow or fiery as you want. Whatever - this is a great recipe, tasty and economical as well as simple. It is made from basic storecupboard ingredients but you can tart it up with posh relishes, vegan mayo, avocado slices or whatever else you can cram between a burger bun! It can also be tweaked flavour-wise by varying the spices and herbs - and varying the beans. Try white beans with lots of garlic or whole cooked lentils with walnuts and... oh, go on, experiment!

Taken from Viva! and VVF's Kids Cook Veggie guide.

Serves:

Makes 6-8 small burgers

Time:

25 minutes: 10-15 minutes preparation, 10 minutes frying time (longer if oven-baked)

Ingredients:

1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
10ml/2tsp olive oil
1 medium carrot, grated medium
1/ 2 tsp mild chilli powder (or even less if you really hate hot spices)
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tin rinsed and drained pinto or kidney beans
1 tbsp Dijon mustard (milder than English, so don’t worry)
1 tbsp soya sauce 1 tbsp tomato purée
75g/3oz rolled oats – use either jumbo or porridge Oil spray

Method:

1. Fry onion and garlic in oil until softened. Add a little water if mixture starts to stick - a tablespoon or two.

2. Add grated carrot and spices for another minute or two, stirring to make sure nothing sticks.

3. In a bowl, mash beans thoroughly with a potato masher. Add mustard, soya sauce, tomato purée and oats and mix all ingredients in thoroughly.

4. If you have time, chill the mixture in the fridge before making into burgers – makes it easier to handle.

5. With wet hands, form mix into burgers. Flatten each one with back of wooden spatula or spoon. (Use a cup as a cookie cutter if you want them evenly round or use a burger press if you want a real pro look).

6. Using 1-2 squirts of oil spray, fry gently for a few minutes on either side until they are brown on the outside and squidgy in the middle. Don’t worry if they fall apart, just squish them back together!

7. Serve with salad and baked potatoes, or on a wholemeal roll with a little Plamil vegan mayo, relish and salad.