Vegan Black Bean Burgers
Satisfying black beans seem like a natural base for a hearty vegan burger, but most black bean burgers are mushy or fall apart when flipped. We managed to harness the sticking power of the beans' natural starches and, with just a few additions, create a great burger. For a dry binder, we used tortilla chips that we ground in the food processor; their corn flavor added a pleasing Southwestern flair to our burgers, which we enhanced with scallions, fresh cilantro, garlic, ground cumin and coriander, and hot sauce. We pulsed the beans with the chips near the end of processing the chips so the beans maintained some texture. When looking for something other than an egg to pull everything together, we didn't have to go far. Instead of opening a can of chickpeas for the aquafaba, we found that the liquid from the can of black beans we were using provided the necessary cohesion, and the beans were sticky enough to hold together without an additional ingredient. The black bean liquid also boosted the overall flavor of the burgers. We dried the rinsed beans well to ensure we had control over the moisture content of our burgers. When forming the patties, it's important to pack them together firmly.
