Before starting the blog, Josh and I were 'celebrating' what we called "Burrito Tuesday" for quite a while. Every Tuesday we'd come up with our own wacky filling for a burrito, conventional and unconventional. There's no hiding that we really freaking love Mexican food. Southwestern Fusions are the best, and most likely if it's wrapped in a tortilla I'll love it. This recipe is not for one of our crazy burritos, although I'm sure we'll post a few fun fusions in the future. Today we've done a Southwestern Black Bean burger.
Personally, I want to make a more conscious effort to shop local, organic, and include less meat in my diet. This was a delicious way to start. This burger is totally vegetarian, however, we used egg as a binder. The burger itself is topped with homemade loaded guac, and pepper jack cheese.
We paired our veggie burger with Josh's baked sweet potato fries. We'll definitely be including the recipe at some point soon because I fell in love with his fries. :)
What You'll Need:
Veggie Burger:
-3 Cloves Garlic
-1 Jalapeño, seeded for less heat
-1/2 Bell Pepper
-1 large Carrot, peeled
-1/2 small Red Onion
-4 Sprigs of Fresh Cilantro
-15 oz can Black Beans, drained and mashed
-1/4 tsp Cumin
-1/4 tsp Coriander
-Pinch Chili Powder
-1 Large Egg
-1/4 Cup Cotija
-1/4 tsp Black Pepper
-Large Pinch of Salt
-Several Slices Pepper Jack Cheese
-Favorite Hamburger buns
Loaded Guacamole:
-1 Avocado
-1 tsp Cilantro
-Half Lime, juiced
-1/2 Tomato, diced
-1/4 Red Onion, diced
-Pinch Cumin
-1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
-Pinch Chili Powder
-Pinch Red Pepper Flakes
-Salt and Pepper, to taste
1. Prep the vegetables for the burger. Add the garlic, jalapeño, carrot, cilantro, bell pepper, and onion and pulverize until the veggies are chopped into small chunks. Be sure to keep an eye on this, make sure that the veggies don't become liquified. Squeeze the excess juices from the veggies so that the burger doesn't become too moist.
2. Pre-heat the oven to 400º F. In a medium sized bowl, mash the black beans, then add the vegetables, spices, and egg. Mix everything together and shape 8 patties. Grease a baking sheet, and lay out the patties. Bake for about 10 to 15 minutes on each side, or until the outsides brown a little.
3. While the burgers bake, make the guacamole. Cut up the veggies, and mash the avocado. Add in veggies, spices, lime and stir everything together.
4. While the burgers are finishing up, top with a slice of pepper jack cheese, and wait till melted. Then add burger to the bun, top with guacamole, and enjoy!
Alright, you gotta love all the fresh veggies that go into this burger. When you can pronounce every ingredient, you know it's good!
It's very important that you drain the veggies of excess water! Too much moister will make it hard to shape patties for your veggie burgers.
These are our homemade buns! Baking is not necessarily my thing, but bread is a different story.
