Last Nights Dinner « Jen Loves Kev

Last Nights Dinner

Posted: 06.30.09

So last nights dinner was so freakin’ good. Just looking at these pictures Kev took is making me excited that there were left overs for lunch today!!! So since I don’t eat meat I am constantly looking for good veggie/black bean burgers in the summer. I have yet to find a good frozen substitute. I mean they are all ok but nothing I crave because they were so delicious. I finally decided that it has to be super easy to make your own black bean burgers, so last night was my first attempt and they were AMAZING!! Even Kev the “burger guy” had one and loved them!! I topped each one with sliced avacado, tomatoes and some homemade salsa. We had some corn on the cob too that we sprinkled with some chili powder. It was an excellent summer meal.

Black Bean Burgers:
* 1 (16 ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
* 1/2 green bell pepper, cut into 2 inch pieces
* 1/2 onion, cut into wedges
* 3 cloves garlic, peeled
* 1 egg
* 1 tablespoon chili powder
* 1 tablespoon cumin
* 1 teaspoon Thai chili sauce or hot sauce
* 1/2 cup bread crumbs

1. If grilling, preheat an outdoor grill for high heat, and lightly oil a sheet of aluminum foil. If baking, preheat oven to 375 degrees and lightly oil a baking sheet.
2. In a medium bowl, mash black beans with a fork until thick and pasty.
3. In a food processor, finely chop bell pepper, onion, and garlic. You could just finely chop these your self if you don’t have a food processor. Then stir into mashed beans.
4. In a small bowl, stir together egg, chili powder, cumin, and chili sauce.
5. Stir the egg mixture into the mashed beans. Mix in bread crumbs until the mixture is sticky and holds together. Divide mixture into four patties.
6. If grilling, place patties on foil, and grill about 8 minutes on each side. If baking, place patties on baking sheet, and bake about 10 minutes on each side.

Salsa:
* 1 can Whole Roma Tomatoes, juice drained*
* 1/2 small Red Onion, halved (add more onion if you like a lot of onion)
* 1 green Turkish Chili or any kind of chili pepper, roughly chopped
* 1 Cup fresh Cilantro, roughly chopped (including stems)
* 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
* juice of 2 Limes
* 3/4 teaspoon Salt
* 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground Pepper
* I also add from fresh cut up tomatoes if I have some.

Place all ingredients in a food processor and blend until all pieces are very small. Serve with tortilla chips.
MMmmmmmmmmm

Comments (14)

Lilli

06.30.09

I am a meat person but this is looking delicious. I’m going to have to try this recipe and see how it comes out. Kev took a great picture, my mouth is watering!
Kristi W.

06.30.09

Hi! I enjoy your blog and wanted to know if you or your husband have any tips for photographing food. The photos in this post are great. What kind of equipment are you using? Thanks!
Michele

06.30.09

I love that you post recipes. I’m always looking for good veggie meals, so thanks! This looks really good.
carly

06.30.09

mmm. corn on the cob is my favourite!!
that salsa bean burger looks GREAT too.
i love bbqs…wish i had one
made sweet

06.30.09

i want to eat that.
Jen

06.30.09

Thanks everyone- I highly reccomend that you try this receipe its so great!!!
Orchid Grey

06.30.09

your photos look like something out of a cookbook! I can’t wait to try this recipe!
Elizabeth @ Peacock Feathers

07.01.09

Sounds great! We do a lot of Mexican during the summer too. To make the corn on the cob even better, add a sprinkle of cumin and a squeeze of lime! You will die it is so good.
Kevin Richardson

07.01.09

Hi Kristi, I’m Kev (Jen’s husband). I’m glad you like the photos on this post. I generally find that shooting with a 50mm prime lens works well with food. This works well because it will allow you to get a very shallow depth of field so the viewer can focus on the color and texture while still getting a (non-distracting) sense of atmosphere. For a quick snapshot like this one, I like to use a remote flash aimed at a white ceiling in order to flood the room with light. In my opinion, however, one of the most important part’s of food photography is composing the shot to show just the right amount of food, plate and atmosphere. Hope this helps. Let me know if you have any tips as well.
Katherine

07.08.09

I tried this recipe last night and we loved it! I loved being able to make a vegetarian burger instead of getting a frozen cardboard one from the grocery store. It was super easy, cheap and very tasty. Thanks!
A Healthy Vegetarian « Jen Loves Kev

11.09.10

[...] Homemade Black Bean Burgers [...]
heather lea

11.11.10

yummy! this food couldn’t look any more delicious! i am def. going to be trying your black bean burger salsa recipe. i’ve made black bean burgers before, but they come out super crumbly instead of thick and sticky. i have a question though…i use milled flax seed as an egg substitute. do you think the burgers will hold up without the egg? only one way to find out! thanks again.
Joanna

01.13.11

I made this for dinner yesterday and it was delicious! I substituted about 3/4 cup of ground almonds for the breadcrumbs since I never really have bread, and it worked really well. The texture and flavour was so good and it was really easy to make too. Thanks so much for sharing this recipe! I can’t wait to eat the leftovers for dinner tonight too )
Last Nights Dinners « Jen Loves Kev

06.07.11

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