Black Bean Burgers

Another favorite from Veganomicon. This is not a recipe to feed an army: just six small burgers. That's fine for our family. Double it when you have guests. They will want seconds.

Black Bean Burgers

What you need:
 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed (or two cups cooked if you start from dry beans)
 1/2 Cup vital wheat gluten
  1/2 Cup breadcrumbs (we use plain store bought panko)
  1 teaspoon chile powder
  an extra little dash of cumin
  1/4 Cup water
  a squirt of ketchup
  a couple of cloves of garlic and a little bit of onion (minced fine or grated)
  2 Tablespoons olive oil
  Extra little spritzes of oil

How to do it:
In a mixing bowl, mash the beans with a fork to break them up a bit. Add everything else except the oil.

Mix it all up with a fork and then knead with your hands until its well mixed and firm.

Divide burger mixture into sixths. Form six balls and then flatten each between your hands.

Preheat a griddle or heavy skillet. Add a thin layer of olive oil to the bottom. For each patty, cook it 5 minutes on one side, spritz with oil, flip and cook 5 minutes more on the second side.

I could fit three burgers at a time in my skillet. Don't try to crowd all six into the pan at once.

Notes: If you need to get these started and then set them aside for awhile, it's fine to make them ahead through the kneading of the dough, let it sit and then fry them up later. Just put some plastic wrap over it so it doesn't dry out while it's sitting.

Serve with: We like these with guacamole, but they are also good with the standard ketchup, mustard, lettuce, tomato and onion type fixings.