Chipotle Black Bean Burgers

A vegan diet isn't something that I ever want to follow (as a Wisconsin girl, I can't possibly imagine my life without dairy), but when I find food that's tasty and healthy that happens to vegan, I'm more than happy to eat it. Surprisingly, my husband, who's much more of a meat and potatoes guy, said that this is his favorite of all the veggie burgers I've made so far. It's similar to one of his favorite meals, a dish I created dubbed Laine's Mexsconsin Delight by my dad, that is a now a favorite and oft-made dish of many of my family members. I love black beans and corn together, which lead me to immediately bookmark this recipe when I got this cookbook. What held me back so long from making these burgers was the fact that TVP isn't something I already had in my cabinets. But I finally remembered to pick some up (it's actually pretty cheap) and I wish I hadn't waited so long to do so! These burgers are hearty and filling, with a nice kick from the chipotles. You can adjust the level of spiciness by leaving out or including the seeds and obviously by picking the size of the canned chipotles you use, as they vary quite a bit. I cut my burgers in half and ate them in small tortillas with salsa and greens (sour cream and cheese would also be good), but they'd also be good in pitas, on hamburger buns, or served with eggs for breakfast.

Chipotle Black Bean Burgers
from Veggie Burgers Every Which Way
makes six 4-inch burgers

3/4 cup textured vegetable protein (TVP)
2/3 cup boiling water
1 1/2 cups cooked black beans
1/2 onion, roughly chopped
1 cup cooked brown rice
1 ear of corn, kernels slices off with a knife or 1/2 cup thawed frozen corn
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 chipotle chile peppers in adobo sauce, minced, plus 1 tablespoon sauce
Juice of 1 lime
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon dried chipotle pepper
3/4 cup toasted bread crumbs
2 tablespoons oil

1. Place the TVP in a small bowl, pour over the boiling water, and let sit for 10 minutes.

2. Combine 1/2 cup of the black beans and the onion in a food processor and pulse until coarsely pureed. Place the remaining 1 cup beans in a bowl and coarsely mash with a potato masher or a fork. Fold tin the reconstituted TVP, the bean-onion mixture, rice, corn cilantro, flour, minced chipotle and its sauce, lime juice salt, and dried chipotle. Fold in the bread crumbs. Let stand for 10 minutes so the crumbs can soak up as much moisture as possible. Shape into 6 patties.

3. In an oven-safe skillet or nonstick saute pan, heat the oil over medium-high heat. When hot, add the patties and cook until browned on each side, 6 to 10 minutes total. Transfer the pan to the oven and bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until the burgers are firm and cooked through.