I have a love/hate relationship with veggie burgers. You see, I’ve eaten my fair share over the years and truth be told – I haven’t had many good ones.

Now, when I say ‘veggie burgers’ I’m not talking big company soy-protein burgers with fake grill marks and crinkly plastic wrappers – those are good for what they are – but even then, I don’t really eat them.

I’m talking burgers made with (mostly) vegetables; often multi-colored and peppered with what is essentially smashed veggies, molded and formed into patties – not always seasoned.

But I’m not hating outright, to just yknow hate; and I’m not doggin’ on restaurants or companies that have a go at it. I know for a fact, veggie burgers aren’t easy to make – so I give them props for that.

This recipe has taken more than a few tries; taste – I can nail, it’s the texture and (egg-less) hold that’s hard to pin down. But I think I’ve achieved that here – thing is there’s not that many ‘veggies’ in it. It’s not a veggie burger in the purest sense of the word – I’ll save that for a future post – but you get my drift.

This burger is modeled after a burger that I used to eat way way way back in Tijuana, usually after a heavy round of partying. Burger, Lettuce, Tomato, Mayo, Avocado and Rajas – Roasted Poblanos – That was it. The poblanos are mild in heat and when roasted have a great depth of flavor.

You put that all together and you have yourself a pretty good burger – even if you don’t use the poblanos. I find that this has become my go to ‘veggie’ burger. It’s good yo!

The secret to this burger is in the roasting of the black beans and the sauteing of the mushrooms – beforehand. You see, when it comes to veggie burgers – moisture is the enemy. Moisture is what makes it ‘mushy’ and plop out the side when you take a bite. Moisture must be stopped.

That’s not to say that these burgers are dry; they have a nice balance of mush and ‘non mush’ – if you know what I mean. Half of the mixture is pulsed and the other half is chopped and added – creating a much needed contrast in texture. From there I let it rest in the fridge for a bit then I add panko bread crumbs to bring it all together.

BeanBurguesa con Rajas; Black Bean Burger with Roasted Poblano

Makes 2 Large or 3 medium sized burgers

1 Can of Black Beans (drained & rinsed)
10 oz of Baby Bellas (crimini) Mushrooms (12 – 14) quartered
1 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp canola oil
1/2 medium red onion

Spice Mix:
1 (heap) TBS Nutritional Yeast
1 (heap) TBS chickpea flour (any flour works but I prefer chickpea)
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp ground coriander (optional)
1/4 tsp salt (plus more to taste)
Few drops of liquid smoke

3 – 4 TBS panko bread crumbs
Flour For Dusting
2 TBS Canola Oil

2 Large or 4 small Poblano Peppers (info following burger instructions)

2 – 3 Vegan Buns
2 (small) Vine Ripened Tomatoes
Your favorite greens!
1/4 Cup Vegenaise
Slices of Avocado

1. Preheat Your Oven to 400 degrees
2. Rinse Black Beans well in a colander – Pat dry with paper towel or clean towel.
3. Lay your black beans out; single layer in a baking pan (I use a square 8X8)
4. Bake your black beans for 20 minutes total – shaking; moving them around a couple times in between.

5. Meanwhile Trim and Quarter your mushrooms.
6. Heat canola oil in a small saute pan and saute mushroom quarters for 8 minutes or until all the liquid has been released.
7. Splash the tsp of soy sauce over  and stir – cook for another minute.
8. Allow to Cool.

9. Remove black beans from the oven and allow to cool.
10. Using a food processor pulse red onion, spice mix and half of your roasted black beans and cooked mushrooms (reserve the other half). Pulse until mixture has been chopped and mixed well but NOT purreed.
11. Using a knife, roughly chop remaining mushrooms and black beans (be careful ‘cuz they can go flying!)
12. In a medium mixing bowl add your pulsed mixture.
13. Using a rubber spatula (or large spoon) mix your pulsed mixture with remaining (chopped) beans and mushrooms; being sure that it is all mixed well – almost like a dough.  If its too wet for whatever reason add a bit of chickpea flour.
14. Place in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.
14.5 – At this point roast your poblanos – see instructions below.
15. After your mixture has chilled add 3 TBS of panko bread crumbs and incorporate thoroughly until you reach a nice consistency. Add more panko if the mixture is too mushy – I find that 3 TBS do the trick.
16. Using clean hands form patties (2 – 3 depending on size) and place on plastic wrap or parchment paper – Dust with a bit of flour on both sides.

17. Heat Oil in a large frying pan. Cook your patties a few minutes on each side over medium high heat – I like a little char on each side so I cook a little longer – but that’s up to you.

From There serve on toasted buns with vegenaise, (salted) sliced tomato, lettuce, avocado and roasted poblanos.  See below.

Roasting Your Poblanos

1. Roast your poblanos over direct heat using tongs or on a (dry) heavy bottom pan until completely blackened and charred.
1.5 – Basically, if it looks burnt you’re good to go!
2. Wrap roasted poblanos in a paper towel and place inside a plastic bag. Allow to steam / cool for about 10 minutes.
3. Pull poblanos from the plastic bag and rub off all of the charred bits with the paper towel.
3.5 – If you’re sensitive to chiles – use gloves or the bag to handle them.
4. Remove seeds and core and slice as you’d like. I like large flat pieces.
5. From here you can choose to eat them as they are; sometimes, I like to fry them up a so that the both the burger and poblanos are nice and hot.

Buen Provecho! Enjoy!