Vegetarian Chipotle Bean Burgers
Following Thanksgiving, my wife and I decided we needed to do something to balance out the high turkey and meat intake we endured throughout November. We decided to try a vegan diet for a week in an effort to eat a little healthier. We don’t eat dairy, so cutting meat and eggs out of our diet for seven days doesn’t seem difficult at all, and on the whole, it hasn’t been hard to change our diet. Then I got sick. All I craved were the very foods we had sworn off of for seven days! I dreamt of chipotle mac-and-cheese with garlic breadcrumbs, deep-fried sesame chicken tenders with home-made garlic mayo and beef burgers on a whole wheat with sweet red onions and guacamole. I found a way to compromise…
Sitting in the pantry was a packet of Hurst 15-Bean Soup Mix. If I recall, this costs about $1 in Walmart. I didn’t need a beefburger to settle my comfort-food craving, a chipotle bean burger with a home-made aioli would be a delicious meatless meal. This creation was simple, and now we have enjoyed these chipotle bean burgers, with a slight smokey undertone I know that they make a healthy alternative when a burger craving hits.
Smokey Vegetarian Chiptole Bean Burger
For the Burgers you will need the following ingredients:
- 1lb bag of 15 bean soup mix
- 1 Small Can of Tomato Paste
- One Onion
- One Red Pepper
- Two Chipotle Peppers in Adobo Sauce
- Three Cloves of Garlic, roasted
- Three Eggs
- 1 Cup Breadcrumbs
For the Garlic and Chipotle Aioli
- Four Cloves of Garlic, Roasted
- Two Chiptole Peppers
- Half a Cup of Mayonnaise
Soak the beans (overnight is ideal) then rinse them until the water runs clear. Put them in a large pot (or slow cooker) and add 10-12 cups of water – you want the water to be about two inches above the beans. Add a can of tomato paste and bring to a boil. Allow to cook for 45-60 minutes or until beans are soft. I left these in a slow cooker for hours and it worked just fine.
While the beans are cooking, roast a head of garlic, or slightly toast three cloves of garlic in a skillet. Chop your onion and red pepper and set these aside.
Once your beans have cooked save a cup or two of the liquid before you rinse them put put them in to a food processor. Add two chipotle peppers, and three cloves of roasted garlic. Pulse the beans until you have a paste. If you feel like your mixture is too solid, slowly add the liquid from the beans as you pulse them. You want this to be the consistency of chummus (hummus).
Put the bean paste in a mixing bowl, add the chopped onion (yes, raw) and red pepper (I was thinking that a cup of sweetcorn would be a wonderful addition too, maybe next time), mix. Add the breadcrumbs and eggs, and mix.
Drizzle some olive oil in a non stick skillet. Using Egg/Pancake Rings to keep the shape, cook the burger patties on a medium heat for about six to eight minutes. Flip and cook for a few more minutes and toast a bun while you wait.
I made a really quick and easy Chipotle Garlic Aioli to spread on the bread (Four cloves of roasted garlic, two or three chipotle peppers and half a cup of mayo in the blender. Lemon juice would be good in this too
If you’re re-heating these, put them on a cookie sheet and put in the oven at 350 for ten minutes.