Black Bean Burger

Well, its been a very busy month on all fronts and hence the delay in posting something here. I was at the store the other day staring at these big fat juicy mangoes. How do I know if they are juicy ??? - well you just know that with mangoes. Anyways that got me thinking and the next thing I know I had decided to make fresh mango salsa for dinner. I normally like pairing it with baked salmon, but this time around I decided to make a black bean burger since my husband does not share my taste for fish.

I also added some pineapple and oranges to the mango salsa to give it a Hawaiian taste. The results were amazing and I have made this all summer long. It also makes an excellent dip for chips.

Ingredients:

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 green bell pepper, chopped fine
1/2 onion, chopped fine
3 cloves garlic, peeled and diced
1 egg beaten
1 Tbs chili powder
1 Tbs cumin
1 tsp chili sauce or hot sauce
1/2 cup bread crumbs
salt to taste

Directions:

You can either grill or bake the burgers. If baking set the oven to 375 F and lightly oil the baking sheet. I chose to use a regular pan to cook my burgers.
In a medium bowl, mash black beans until thick and pasty. Mix in the finely diced bell pepper, onion and garlic. You can also add the veggies to a food processor and chop them. Once the veggies are mixed in with the beans add the beaten egg, spices and the chili sauce and mix well. Add the bread crumbs to this mixture until it holds to together. You might need to add a little more of the bread crumbs if the mixture is too pasty.
Divide the mixture and make patties in whatever size you like. Mine were sized for a regular Burger bun. Do not make them too thick, else they might not cook through properly.
Heat some olive oil in a pan over medium heat and slide in the patties. Let it cook through on both sides. you will need to flip them a couple of times. If grilling or baking it would be around 8-10 minutes on each side.

Mango-Pineapple Salsa:

Mix together finely diced mangoes, pineapple, green chili - about 2, and fresh coriander. Season with some salt and fresh ground peppercorns. Add a little fresh lemon juice and mix well. I also added some fresh chopped oranges. Serve this over burger, fish or chips.

bon appetit !!!

Fresh Strawberry Pie with Vanilla Crust

I had a lot of vanilla wafers left over from another recipe. While I was wondering what to do with those, along came the big, bright and juicy strawberries of the season. What more do you need to bake a pie ???  
30 minutes later I am back home from the store with a big box of .....yes, you guessed it right - Strawberries :)

The pie turned out pretty good - its a very soft pie since I used crushed vanilla wafers for my crust and a strawberry glaze over fresh cut berries. It wasn't very heavy and since my wafers were the reduced fat kind, It made it easier to believe that I wouldn't have to spend extra hours at the gym - not that it helps in any case :)

Pie Crust:

Ingredients:

vanilla wafers - about 50

1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter - melted

2 Tbs sugar

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375 F.

Crush the wafers in a food processor until its coarse. Add the sugar and the melted butter and mix well.  Press the wafer mixture into a 9 inch pie plate and press down and along the sides of the pan. Bake it in the oven for about 8-10 minutes or until slightly brown and set.

Remove the the baked crust from the oven and set aside. Let it cool completely before filing.

Filing:

Ingredients:

6-8 cups strawberries washed
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup corn starch
2 Tbs butter
 
Directions:
 
Combine the sugar and corn starch in a sauce pan. Mash or grind about 2 cups of strawberries to make a thick paste - It doesn't have to be smooth. Add the strawberry mixture to the sugar and corn starch mix and cook over medium heat. Keep stirring until the strawberry mixture thickens. Once its done, remove from heat and add the butter and mix well.
 
Slice the remaining strawberries and place them in the cooled crust. You could also arrange whole strawberries but personally I think that sliced strawberries are easier to eat. Once the strawberries are arranged in the pie crust, pour the strawberry glaze over them to cover completely. Chill for 2-4 hours and serve with whipped cream.
 
bon appetit !!!