Black Bean Burgers w/ Chipolte Mayo

Ingredients Burgers:

1 16oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 green or red pepper, diced
1/2 onion cut into wedges
3 cloves of garlic, peeled
1 egg
1 T chili powder
1 T cumin
1 teas. Thai chili sauce or hot sauce
1/2 cup bread crumbs, oats, or crushed crackers
corn kernels if desired
salt and pepper to taste

Ingredients Mayo:
3/4 cup lowfat mayo
1 T chipolte chilis in adobo, finely chopped
1 T fresh cilantro
1 1/2 teas. fresh lime juice

1) If grilling pre-heat outdoor grill to high heat and lightly oil sheet of aluminum foil. If baking pre-heat oven to 375 and lightly oil baking sheet.

2) In med. bowl mash beans w/fork until think and pasty.

3) In food processor (or blender), finely chop pepper, onion and garlic. Stir into mashed beans.

4) In small bowl wisk egg, chili powder, cumin and chili sauce.

5) Stir egg mixture into mashed beans. Mix in crumbs/oats/crackers until mix holds together. Divide into four patties.

6) If grilling, place patties on foil and grill approximately 8 minutes per side. If baking, place patties on baking sheet and bake approximately 10 minutes per side.

7) For chipotle mayo mix all ingredients together in small bowl.


Modifications and why I like this recipe:

Ok, so you all know that I can never follow a recipe exactly! For this one I didn't have enough breadcrumbs so I ground up the left over tortilla chips in the cupboard and used those instead. I also doubled the recipe as these freeze really well. I love this recipe because first, it's a vegetarian option that BOTH my parents will eat; second, it's super versatile and you could put just about anything in these...different beans, chilis, cheese, whatever you've got laying around.

One thing to note - I ended up putting in a bit more "crumbs/oats" than the recipe called for to get it to bind.