I made this for dinner tonight and my friend Josh gave me the idea. I've given it two titles, depending on the type of meat used. The Black Angus Veggie Burger uses Black Angus Beef whereas the Confetti Burger can be made with any ground meat or even tofu. I'm not proficient with tofu but if you are and try it, please let me know how you did it. What I found was that while these burgers aren't pretty, they are amazingly good. So... here is what I did...
Black Angus Veggie Burger/Confetti Burger
1 lb ground Black Angus beef or your favorite burger base
2 cans black beans, drained
1 cup water
2 chicken or beef boullion cube
1 1/2 TBSP ground cumin
1/2 medium onion, grated or finely chopped
1 medium carrot, grated
2 cloves garlic, grated or crushed
3 oz shredded cheddar, monteray jack, and/or colby cheese
6 slices deli style cheddar cheese
In a medium sauce pan, combine black beans, water, boullion cube, and cumin. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to medium low. Simmer for 15 minutes or until most of the water has evaporated. Mash the beans with a potato masher or hand blender until smooth. Set aside to cool but do not let it get cold.
In a medium bowl, combine ground meat, onion, carrot, garlic, 1 cup black bean paste, and shredded cheese. Blend with hands or spoon until thouroughly combined. Pat out 6 evenly sized patties.
Heat a large skillet on medium high until it's screeching hot. Coat the bottom of the pan with nonstick cooking spray and gently place the burgers in the pan. Be careful and watch for splatter. Turn the pan down to medium low and cook for 20 minutes, flipping the burgers halfway through. These burgers have a high moisture content that makes them easy to fall apart and the cheese could make it stick to the pan. When turning the burgers, take it slow, try to get as much of the "crust" off with the burger as you can. Don't be alarmed if the crust sticks completely.
Place the burger on 1/2 of a bun. Top with a spoonful of the remaining black bean paste and a slice of cheese. Serve it open faced with a side of black bean paste and vinegar cole slaw.
For those of you who are WLS patients, we did not have the vinegar cole slaw with this because it's just too much food with it added. I can see making the cole slaw instead of extra beans when I make this again. Other than sticking to the pan, this came out really well.
Enjoy!
Angie
