Black Bean Mole Burger

Black Bean Veggie Burgers + Mole

There are a lot of black bean burgers that seem like they are pretending to be meat and ends up not having many veggies and an overly homogeneous texture. I prefer burgers that are chock-a-block full of veggies.  That is the first goal of this burger.

I love Mexican mole.  Love it. I first had it in high school at La Cucaracha in St. Paul and was utterly amazed at the savory chocolate taste.  I was impressed and forever changed.  I have tried to analyze the mole at dozens of restaurants since then, and the ones that I like the most tend to have a spicy and smooth traditional chocolaty taste.  There are lots of different black bean mole recipes that got me thinking about combining mole into a black bean burger.  As far as I know, there is no other recipe like this out there.  This black bean mole burger recipe is the best of what I love about black bean veggie burgers and mole- I hope you try it!

Black Bean Mole Burgers

Recipe by Bunnies Love Carrots

Ingredients

1 dry end slice of wheat bread (or 1/4 cup plain dry wheat bread crumbs)
1 1/2 cups cooked black beans (or 1 15 ounces can rinsed and drained)
1/4 cup lentils (washed, cooked and pureed)*
1 cup cooked brown rice*
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon chipotle powder
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon (use bold cassia cinnamon, or 1/2 tsp mild ceylon cinnamon)
1 teaspoon dried epazote**
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 tablespoon agave nectar (or honey)
1 small lime- juiced (about 2 1/2 tablespoons lime juice)
1 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

For toasting:
2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
2 tablespoons sesame seeds

1 small yellow onion- chopped
1 clove garlic- minced
1 roasted red pepper- chopped
1 portobello mushroom- finely chopped
1/2 cup carrots- finely chopped
1/4 cup corn- frozen

Spray olive oil or nonstick cooking spray
6 whole wheat hamburger buns, thin buns, or corn/flour tortillas- whatever your preference
avocado slices (optional)
salsa (optional)

Method

Roast the red pepper.  I typically do this right on the gas burner or under the broiler with a drop of olive oil rubbed over the skin.  Roast until the skin is charred black all over, then put it directly in small paper bag or a bowl covered with plastic wrap to steam while you chop veggies.  This whole pepper roasting process takes about 15 minutes.

In a medium mixing bowl, gently crush the black beans with a fork just until there are no whole beans left.  Add the lentils* and rice*.
Add the spices (save the cumin, oregano, and sesame seeds).  Lightly fold the ingredients.

Prepping the beans and flavoring the base ingredients

Chop the bread finely and transfer to the top of the ingredients, but don’t mix.

Chop the onion into small pieces and mince the garlic.  Prep the mushroom by removing and discarding the brown gills and stem.  Chop the cap into small pieces.  Chop the carrots- we typically have julienne carrots that I chop into a fine dice- or you can shred them.  Measure the corn so that all these last ingredients are all ready.  Save the red pepper until the last minute so that it has the additional time to steam.

In a well-seasoned medium-sized cast-iron skillet on medium-low, toast the cumin, oregano and sesame seeds, stir constantly for 2 minutes until the cumin is fragrant and the sesame seeds are lightly toasted.  Transfer to the mixing bowl and sprinkle over the top of the bread.

In the same skillet add a tiny bit of olive oil, cook the onion for 2 minutes until they barely start to turn transparent then add the garlic for 1 minute.

Cooking the onion, garlic, pepper and mushroom.

While this cooks, prep the red pepper by pulling out the center with all the seeds and discard. Scrape off and discard all (or most of) the charred black skin.  Chop the red flesh and add to pan along with the mushrooms. Cook for 2 minutes to remove a little of the moisture. Add the carrots and corn for one last minute and then shut of flame.

All the veggies makes a colorful burger.

Add the vegetables to the mixing bowl and fold together being careful not to completely demolish the black beans.

Chill the mixture for at least 20 minutes. (I typically use this time to make some margaritas and guacamole… instant fiesta!)  The longer you can chill the mixture the better, so this is an easy meal to prep ahead.

The final product, ready to chill in the refrigerator.

Shape the chilled mixture into 6 patties about 3/4 inch thick. Fry them in a cast-iron skillet with a little spray of olive oil, pressing down firmly as they fry for 5 minutes on each side.  Coat the skillet with olive oil when you turn them to ensure even browning.  When they are done they should feel fairly firm.  Top with avocado slices and your favorite salsa.  I like a chunky pineapple chipotle salsa- or anything spicy with some tropical fruit.

The final burger in all it's glory.

*Time saving tips

Lentils: I used my pre-cooked, pureed and frozen lentils that I keep on hand.  They are great to add to macaroni and cheese or anything that you want a creamier or cheesier consistency.  Lentils are a super food and you barely notice the taste as long as you don’t overdo it.
Brown Rice: I like to use the extra rice from takeout or typically make extra rice when we make rice- specifically for this type of purpose. The burgers really need the rice- preferably brown for the firmness, but any other firm rice would work.

Notes

These burgers have a little kick.  If you prefer it to be milder, you can cut back on the chili powder and chipotle powder.  When the kids are eating, I typically exclude these two ingredients until the very end- make a burger for each of the kids and then add the spice.  This makes the remaining burgers extra spicy!  Good stuff.  The kids like these with ketchup.  Gross… but whatever floats their boat.  This is what I did in the above photos, so the bean get a little more crushed with the extra mixing.  It isn’t the end of the world.

I find that lots of veggie burger recipes tend to have patties that fall apart. At a certain point, I don’t care.  Lots of recipes call for gluten flour or an egg as a binder.  Here I opted to use a smaller amount, but a little more substantial bread crumb which works really well as a binder without an egg or adding extra gluten flour. Refrigeration really helps these stay together nicely. If you are in a hurry, you can certainly fry them right away. I have had very consistent results of firm patties that stay together fairly nicely with this small about of gluten.  If you prefer gluten-free, you can exclude the bread.  In this case you really need more refrigeration so that the rice soaks up more moisture- though they will never stay together as nice without this binder. They are still tasty either way!

**Epazote is traditional Mexican spice that is a little hard to find.  Mexican grocery stores may have it fresh.  I used dried from Penzeys.  It is supposed to reduce intestinal gas with beans- and has a sweet and spicy flavor unlike anything.  If you don’t have it- just leave it out.  It is just as delicious without.