A Bean Burger Burnt Until It's Black, Oh Boy!

In less cynical news, we've been rocking out the best vegan bean burger recipe ever (to date) all winter-spring long, so I thought I would share it, since maybe I won't be able to cook it for you myself as soon as I'd like to. Try them! Eat them all summer long!

Bean Burgers

3 cups cooked kidney beans

1 1/2 cups real bread crumbs (that is, crumbled up pieces of bread)

2 teaspoons olive oil

1/2 cup grated carrots

1/2 large yellow onion, diced

3 large cloves of garlic, minced

2 tablespoons of each:

     spicy mustard

     tomato paste

     soy sauce

1 1/2  teaspoons chili powder

1 teaspoon ground cumin 

Heat the oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onions and garlic and sauté until tender. Add the carrots, chili and cumin and continue to cook for another 5 minutes. Set aside.

Using a potato masher or the back of a fork, mash the beans in a large bowl. Add the sauces and cooked vegetables. Stir well to incorporate. Add the bread crumbs and salt/pepper to taste.

Form this mixture into patties-- try to keep the thickness around an inch or so and pat the edges to keep compact. Oil your skillet and cook the burgers over medium heat for around 5 minutes on each side. Cook longer if you would like the outsides of the burger to be crispier.