Gwyneth's Homemade Veggie Burgers

Last summer I was on the quest to find the perfect veggie burger. I tried several different recipes and never got to one that I truly liked. And then, voila! Gwynnie saves the day! These black bean burgers are made with ingredients I usually have around the house and they have enough spice to make them interesting. I like them with sour cream and salsa.




Ingredients:
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 small yellow onion, peeled and finely diced
2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp course salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 14 ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup cooked brown rice
1 tbsp finely chopped fresh cilantro
2 tbsp flour
3 tbsp safflower oil (I substituted olive oil)
4 sprouted grain or whole wheat burger buns

Directions:
Heat the olive oil in a medium saute pan over medium-low heat. Saute the onion, garlic and cumin together unitl softened and fragrant, about 7 minutes. Add the salt, pepper, beans, and rice and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Add the cilantro and mash the mixture with a potato masher just to combine and get some cohesion--you want the burgers to have some texture.

Let the mixture cool until it's easy to handle. Form the mixture into 4 patties. At this point, you can set the burgers in the fridge for a few hours. Dust on both sides with flour. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat and brown the burgers on both sides, about a minute on each side. Serve them on grilled buns with all your favorite fixings.

(From My Father's Daughter by Gwyneth Paltrow, page 100)

Happy Summer Eating!