Meatless Monday: Vegan Black Bean and Vegetable Burgers

A few years ago I started juicing vegetables for my husband and got hooked myself! One of the things that bothered me about juicing was the pulp left in the juicer; which seemed like such a waste. The fiber and residual nutritional value seemed too valuable to use as compost so I started cooking and baking with it.

Two weeks ago, I made gnocchi from the pulp of veggies that turned out to be heavenly little pillows of nutrition and fiber. This week, I mixed black beans, fresh onion and herbs in the food processor along with oats. I sauteed the veggie pulp a bit with EVOO to release the flavors and added salt and pepper. Then, I mixed the veggie pulp into the black bean mixture and formed them into patties. I coated mine with polenta but some ground oats would have worked just as well. Once these were pan-seared and on a bun, these hearty vegan burgers, full of protein and nutrients, were devoured by my pickiest of meat and potato eaters.

Serve with some North Fork chips or organic tortilla chips and a side salad and everyone will be happy.

INGREDIENTS

• ¹⁄₂ cup quick cooking oatmeal, (or bread crumbs)
• 2 cups cooked black beans (organic canned is ok), drained
• 1 small onion minced (or 1 tsp onion powder)
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic (or 2 cloves minced)
• 1tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1cup pulp from juicing such as carrot, celery, beet, kale, etc
• ¹⁄₄teaspoon cumin
• ¹⁄₂teaspoon salt
• 2teaspoons chili powder
• 1/2 cup of fine polenta, ground oats or Maseca
• 4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil for frying

INSTRUCTIONS

1. In the bowl of a food processor, combine black beans, oats, onion, and spices. Process until smooth.
2. In a sautee pan over medium heat, add 2 table spoons of extra virgin olive oil and sautee the juice pulp  with salt and pepper to taste. This will release the flavors of the veg pulp.
3. Then add the veg pulp mixture to the black bean and oat mixture and mix until you have a texture similar to ground meat.
4. Form into patties (4 dinner size, 6 lunch or snack size).
5. Coat each side in cornmeal/oat/ crust
6. Fry in a griddle until the center is hot (about 4 minutes each side) Load them up in a sandwich with your favorite fixings. Bon appetit!