The weather keeps tricking us New Yorkers.
This past Thursday morning I went to work in pants, boots, and a coat… 24 hours later I walked out of the hospital and literally had to strip out of all of this winter garb as I glanced down at my car’s thermometer that read 75 degrees!!
After I awkwardly shimmied out of my peacoat at a red light while still wearing my seatbelt, I turned on my air conditioning and wondered, “why the hell is it so hot?!”
Oh… Right… It’s almost May!
I had started to believe that winter was going to just blend right into next November. Those of you that know me (and those of you that don’t—get ready to hate me), know that I love winter. But, I also love the change in seasons. I immediately started thinking of what I could cook in this warmer weather.
Burgers of course!
So, after a short chat with the cheese man at my local grocer, I bought the ingredients for black bean burgers with the addition of the finest gorgonzola I could get (okay, so they only carried one kind of gorgonzola, whatever). I topped it with a gorgonzola, onion, mushroom sauce that left me licking my plate.
I feel like burgers just scream summer, and warmer weather, and grilling, and eating outside. Those of you in Florida, California, and wherever else it is that’s warm and sunny all year ’round probably think its burger weather all the time. But in NYC where the weather’s middle name is “fickle,” I’ve gotta nab these burger days when I can get them. Because I’m sure tomorrow I’ll be wearing sandals when I should be wearing boots, and next week I’ll be stuck in my winter coat with the air conditioning on again. All I can say is for now—I’m enjoying my burger weather. And so should you!
Yields: 5 burgers
Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 30 minutes | Total Time: 45 minutes
Ingredients:
15 oz can black beans, drained
½ red pepper, roughly chopped into 1 in squares
½ onion, roughly chopped into 1 in squares
2 cloves garlic
1 egg
1 tsp cumin
½ tsp chili powder
dash of your favorite hot sauce (optional)
¼ cup plain bread crumbs
Sauce to top:
1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, halved, then sliced thick
4 mushrooms, sliced
2 tbsp gorgonzola
1. Preheat oven to 375.
2. Rinse black beans in a bowl until water runs clear then pat dry with a paper towel.
3. In a food processor, mix pepper, onion, and garlic. Squeeze mixture with hands or in a mesh strainer to drain any liquid. Add mixture to beans.
4. Add egg, cumin, chili powder, and hot sauce. Stir to combine.
5. Add enough bread crumbs until mixture is sticky and holds together.
6. Divide into 5 servings and toss from hand to hand until well packed. Smash into patties.
7. Place on parchment paper and freeze ~15 minutes to set.
8. Transfer parchment paper to baking sheet and bake at 375 X 15 minutes. Flip and bake an additional 15 minutes.
For Sauce:
1. While burgers are in the oven, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add sliced onions and mushrooms. Cover and cook 5 minutes or until tender.
2. Add gorgonzola and turn off the heat. Cover to melt the cheese.
The Cook’s 2 Cents:
· These freeze extremely well. You can double the recipe and freeze them before baking. You’ll have an easy meal for a day when it actually IS burger weather. Just defrost and pop in the oven.
· If you don’t have a food processor—don’t fret. Just small dice the pepper, onion, and garlic.
· If you don’t have parchment paper, that’s okay too! Just spray nonstick spray on your baking sheet.
Nutrition Facts:
Serving Size: 1 burger
Servings Per Recipe: 5
Without Sauce
Calories: 94 Fat: 2g Sodium: 55mg Carbs: 20g Fiber: 6g Sugars: 1g Potein: 7g
With Sauce
Calories: 126 Fat: 4g Sodium: 91mg Carbs: 22g Fiber: 6g Sugars: 2g Potein: 9g
