Meatless Bean Burgers

These were fun, and so much less expensive than the frozen kind. I made a large batch of beans yesterday and had just enough left over. This recipe is flexible, and you can play with the amount of beans and onions to taste. I haven't tried it, but small diced carrots, sauteed lightly might also work. The burgers are quick to make, and will probably be done long before any side dishes, so plan accordingly. I topped these with a slice of Swiss cheese. The original recipe I adapted this from suggested things like seasoned salt, onion powder, and other items I don't keep in my larder. The proportions seemed all wrong as well. After you've been cooking a while you'll be able to tell at a glance if something will work or not (usually-sometimes I still get fooled) and I didn't have much confidence in the original. That's why I'm not linking to it-not because I'm unwilling to give credit where credit is due.

Because the burgers are so 'bready", You'll probably want to use a lighter bread than I did-or none at all.

You Will Need:

1/2 onion, finely diced
2 1/2 cups cooked black beans (red would work OK too)
1/2 cup flour (plus more if needed)
2 slices bread crumbled( I used leftover chocolate bread which worked great with the black bean/chili thing)
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon Ancho chili powder
Salt and pepper to taste
Oil for shallow frying

Cook the onion in a bit of oil until soft. Mix with everything else, adding the flour gradually. You may not need all of it, or you may need more depending on the moisture in your beans. The mixture should be thick enough to form into patties.

Over medium heat, heat a couple tablespoons of cooking oil and fry until nicely browned on each side. Serve hot. Makes 8 medium sized burgers.