SPICY BEAN BURGERS

Do you remember not so long ago, when I blogged about this black bean salad? 

Remember how much i said i hated, hated, HATED red kidney beans? 

Well, that's changed.

You see, I seem to have completley changed my mind about this weird little funny shaped, funny coloured bean.

I can't apologise for that though because I'm human, we do that A LOT & it's totally acceptable, especially when it comes to food. In fact, when it comes to food it's a very important thing!

So, yes, I can now be heard singing from my little pink kitchen about how I love love LOVE red kidney beans. Well, i do when they're mixed up in this burger anyway, and I still reserve the right to hate them again at any given time...

This wind of change started when I recently went out for lunch at The Swan in Swineford & ordered pretty much the only thing i could eat off the menu (gallstones...yawn). What came out was the most delicious veggie burger i've ever had & it was topped with a homemade chutney your grandmother would be proud of!

Then a couple of days passed & whilst I pottered about doing 4 billion laundry loads, school runs, 4 squbillion nappy changes etc etc, i could not get that damn burger out of my mind. So, I gave in & decided to make my own - y'know just to share the love with the folks around me (nothing at all to do with being food obsessed....)

I found this recipe & although the flavours were good, it just didn't hit the right notes for me. The burgers didn't really hold their own & weren't 'substantial enough', which really means 'i have the appetite of a bloke & need more umph'.

So, I tweaked it and for some bizarre reason, i added my worst bean ever. I don't know why? It's totally possible i forgot I hated them, but who cares, right? This burger is amazeballs. 

I just said Amazeballs? 

Geeeeeez..... 

Anyway, it is...

We served ours with some sweet potato chips, but a good salad would be enough as these burgers fill you right up. Result!

Go fourth my friends & make!

Spicy bean burgers - makes 4 (or 6-8 smaller ones for the littlies)

You will need:

1 x 400g tin of black beans - drained & rinsed

1 x cup of tinned kidney beans - drained & rinsed

1/2 x green bell pepper - chopped into large chunks

1/2 x white onion - chopped into quarters

3 x large cloves of garlic - peeled

1x medium egg

1 x tbsp chilli powder

1 x tbsp ground cumin

1 x tsp hot sauce (i used Franks cayenne pepper sauce)

1 x cup of dried bread crumbs (reserve more as a standby)

Burger buns, green salad & sweet onion chutney (optional) to serve.

and now you will need to do this:

1. Gather your ingredients.... simple stuff!

2. In a food processor, whizz your pepper, onion & garlic.

3. Add your black beans, and whizz again until thoroughly broken down & combined.

4. Add your red kidney beans & pulse. You'll probably only want to do this once or twice, as you want chunks of kidney beans left in the mix.

5. Transfer your mixture into a large mixing bowl & set aside.

6. In a medium sized bowl, whisk your egg & add your ground cumin & chilli powder. Combine & set aside.

7. Add your breadcrumbs, and your egg mix to your bean mixture & combine until the mixture is sticky & holds together (this where you may need to add those extra breadcrumbs, but do this a little at a time.)

8. Divide the mixture into 4 patties.

9. Heat a griddle pan on a med-high heat & coat well with olive oil spray. Add your burgers & cook for approx 15 -20 mins, turning frequently so as not to burn.

10. Whilst all this grilling is going on, toast your buns & dress with your salad. 

11. Once your burgers are browned and cooked through add to your buns. Add your chutney & serve with your sweet pot fries or your salad....

12. Eat! Enjoy!