Smoked Cheese and Black Bean Burger

This burger has been years in the making and has been to served to pretty much all my friends in one form or another. It all started off with me craving burgers and finding a wonderful recipe by Lukas Volger in which he recreated the kind of burger you found in pubs. It opened my eyes to what could be achieved with simple, healthy beans. I had already tried several bean/pulse-based burgers and none of them were satisfying the particular urges a burger craving produces. But after many, many, many attempts and alterations, I think I can proudly present to you all a veggie burger that is incredibly delicious, while not overdosing you on frying and fats.

Makes 4-6 patties, depending on size.

1 onion

2 tins of black beans, drained

2 eggs

1 chilli, deseeded for less heat

1 tsp salt

Roughly 100g of breadcrumbs

100g smoked cheese

Small handful of fresh parsley

American mustard

1. Add the onion, beans, eggs, chilli and salt to a blender, and blitz to a rough combined mix. You don’t want it to be a smooth paste, small chunks of bean and onion produce a wonderful variety in texture.

2. Add the burger mix to a large bowl, and mix in the finely chopped parsley and roughly chunked cheese. I would definitely recommend chopping the cheese into 5-10mm dices, instead of shredding or finely chopping it, because you get wonderful gooey bubbles of cheese within the patty.

3. Now mix in the breadcrumbs; you want to achieve a slightly sticky but no longer wet consistency. Once you can form rough balls without it sticking more to your hands than itself, I would say that is the prime point for the mix. 100g is normally what works for me, but it can vary depending on how drained your beans are and how large your eggs are. Like I say, feel it in your hands and once it reaches that point of sticky but you don’t need to scrap it off your hands, that’s a bingo!

4. Heat some sunflower oil over medium-high heat. Once it begins to shimmer, it’s ready for burger. Roll some of the mix into a ball sized somewhere between a golf and tennis ball. Place in the pan, then pressed down on it with your spatula so it becomes roughly 1cm thick. We’re aiming for a smash patty kind of thickness here.

5. As the first side sears, spread the American mustard on the top side. After 2-4 minutes, the patty should be ready to flip. You’re looking for a deep brown colouration, with all the crispy flavour that brings.

6. Cook for a further 2-4 minutes on the opposite side, then your patty is ready. If you want a double cheese experience, throw some cheese on top of the burger and stick under the grill under melted and bubbling. Serve on a fluffy white bun, with whatever toppings you desire!