Vegan Black Bean Burgers

After going vegan, I've decided that I'd also like to lessen the number of processed foods we eat.  It's really easy to get into the habit of eating highly processed meat substitutes.  One of the things that we love are veggie burgers - and the best burgers we've had are from the pub up the street from us - Olde Magoun's Saloon. It's absolutely delicious - so I've decided to make burgers from scratch.  It sounds like a lot of work, but with a food processor, it's really easy!

This recipe was sent to me by my friend Amie - I'm not sure where she got it, but I made it for the first time tonight and we both loved it.  I shredded the carrots (and added a red pepper) in the food processor before adding the rest of the ingredients.  It was great!  (Note: I may have over-processed it, as the texture was not solid enough for me to finish on the grill!)

Vegan Bean Burgers

Ingredients: (makes 6 big, hearty burgers)

• 2 cans black beans (rinsed and drained)
• 2 carrots, grated
• 1/2 cup dry rolled oats
• 1/4 cup pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp coriander
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper

To Prepare:  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Next, add the oats and pepitas to your food processor and grind until coarsely chopped (they will still be a little chunky).  Let it run for roughly 10 seconds.  Grate the carrots, and then add to your mixture in the food processor.  Add 3/4 of the beans, all spices, and the olive oil.  Once all of this is in the food processor, give it a whir and mix it all together.

Spoon mixture into a mixing bowl and then fold in the rest of the whole, reserved beans.  Wet your hands and then form into 6 medium sized patties.  Place patties on a non-stick baking sheet or into a baking pan, and bake at 300 degrees for 40 minutes, turning once in the middle.  If you want to grill these, pre-bake them for 30 minutes at 300, and then throw them on the grill to reheat and get a little extra browning.