Vegan Baking Competition: Baked Black Bean Burgers

There are so many fantastic competitions in the foodie sphere here on Steemit, so I try my best to join in on some of them to support my other fantastic Steemian buddies!  I was so happy when @nicoleslife extended the date for her #veganbakingcompetition so that I had time to submit something.  You can check out the latest contest post here:  https://steemit.com/vegan/@nicoleslife/extended-submission-for-veganbakingcontest

To be honest, I had actually tried baking some bean-based brownies to submit for the challenge as I know everyone loves some healthier sweet treats.  Yeah, that was a bit of a fail.  I can follow a recipe for baked goodies with no problem, but I think I still need a little work when it comes to creating my own recipes.  I know there is not only art involved, but also a whole lot of science with baking so I suppose I need to keep studying up to improve my skills.  No worries, though, as I had a plan B in the form of some black bean burgers!

As a vegan, you can never have too many veggie patty recipes. :)  It can be challenging to get the perfect combination of wet and dry ingredients, flavor and texture out of them, so I am always looking to improve my attempts in the search for the ultimate one!  That's part of the reason why I actually like baking my patties as opposed to cooking on the stove top or grill.  They are more likely to fall apart if you mess with them a lot.  Plopping them on a baking sheet and sticking them in the oven is also quite easy, so bonus points for simple, right?

I also baked some sweet potato chunks to go with, because here in America it's blasphemy to not eat some type of spud with your burger.  I tend to opt for no bun most of the time, so I feel perfectly justified getting in my healthy starches through baked taters.  I also put together a super easy slaw I make all the time in slightly different combinations to make sure I rounded out the meal with some vibrant colors.  That may not count for the baked portion of the competition, but I wanted to make sure to include that because it is a great addition to the full meal.

Baked Black Bean Burgers

Makes 8 patties

• 1 small onion, peeled & chopped
• 1 small jalapeno pepper, seeded & minced
• 1 red bell pepper, seeded & chopped
• 1 tablespoon taco or fajita seasoning
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 2 cups cooked black beans
• 1/2 heaping cup fresh coriander (cilantro for us 'Mericans)
• 1/2 lime, juice
• 2 tablespoons ground flax seed
• 3-4 tablespoons black bean flour (can sub chickpea, oat, or other flour of choice)

Place your chopped onion and peppers in a skillet over medium heat.  Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking.  Add your taco seasoning, cumin and ground coriander and cook for an additional 5 minutes until the veggies are soft and your kitchen is starting to smell deliciously spicy.  Set aside when done to cool for a few minutes.

While your veggies are cooking, place your black beans, fresh coriander and lime juice in a food processor and blend until well-mixed but still slightly chunky.  Scoop out into a mixing bowl and set aside.

Once your veggies are cooled, place them in the food processor and pulse until they are slightly broken down but still slightly chunky, as well.  Scoop into the bowl with the black bean mixture and combine.  Add your flax and a few tablespoons of the flour to start.  Mix and test the texture before adding more.  Mine took about 4 tablespoons of black bean flour until they were sticky enough to hold together.  You don't want them too moist to where the patties totally fall apart, but also not too dry to where you feel like you are eating a hockey puck.

Form into patties and place on a baking sheet.  Cook in a 375 degree Fahrenheit oven for 30-35 minutes.  I cooked my sweet potatoes at the same time, so halfway through I switched the baking sheets from top to bottom to get even cooking on both.

Serve with your favorite vegan toppings like avocado, tomatoes or I love hummus on my burgers, too!

Cabbage Slaw

• 1 small head of red cabbage, shredded
• 2 ripe mangoes, peeled & chopped
• 1/2 cup fresh coriander, roughly chopped
• 1 small jalapeno, seeded & minced
• 1/2 lime, juiced
• 1 blood orange, zest & juice (can sub regular naval orange if needed)

Mix everything together and ideally let sit in the refrigerator for a few hours before serving so all of the flavors can blend together.

Now I'm hungry, so I'm off to eat some of these leftovers.  Who is bringing me dessert? ;)