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 !!!