I feel as though a good veggie-burger is a dying art. What used to be a staple of vegetarian options at a burger place has been slowly but surely phased out with the insurgence of fake meat products. While products like Beyond Meat and Impossible Meat are delicious and way closer to the real deal, veggie burgers seem to have been an unforeseen externality. Veggie-burgers don’t necessarily try to mimic the taste of a burger, and should be thought of as a completely different sandwich. It’s almost as if sharing the same name as burgers has led to a misconception that veggie burgers should taste like their meat counterpart. 

The beauty of veggie burgers is that you can give them a ton of different flavor profiles, mushroom, sweet potato or bean based burgers all have their distinct qualities. This burger is bean based and tries to stick to the tex-mex flavor profile with a couple of twists. First off, we add in some dried porcini mushrooms to add an umami flavor without overwhelming other elements. Additionally, corn brings a sweet twist to the burger complementing the other spicy & smoky flavors. Enjoy as a burger, mashed up in a wrap or crumbled on top of a salad! 

Quick aside: this recipe will net you between 6 and 8 burgers.

Active time: 30 minutes

Cook time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

• 7-8g dried porcini mushrooms
• 3 cups black beans (½ lb dried or 2 14 oz cans)
• 2 tbsp neutral oil
• 1 cup diced white onion
• 1 red bell pepper, diced into small pieces
• ⅔ cup frozen corn, thawed
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 1/12 tsp ground cumin
• ¼ tsp ground coriander
• 1 ½ tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• ½ cup crumbled feta
• 2 eggs
• ½ tsp liquid smoke
• 1 tbsp ketchup
• ½ cup bread crumbs
• ¼ cup almond flour
• Salt & black pepper

Suggest toppings:

• Hot pepper jelly
• Avocado
• Cheddar cheese
• White onion
• Lettuce 

Directions

1. Rehydrate the porcini mushrooms in room temperature water for 30 minutes before starting. Once they have been rehydrated, strain them and squeeze any excess liquid out. Chop them up into small pieces. 
2. Preheat the oven to 375F. Drain the beans and let them sit in the strainer for at least 10 minutes to allow as much liquid to drip out as possible. 
3. Heat a large skillet on medium heat. Add in the neutral oil and then sauté the onion, red bell pepper, mushrooms and corn for 4-5 minutes with a pinch of salt and a few cranks of black pepper. Next add in the garlic, cumin, coriander, chili powder, paprika and drained beans. Sauté for 5-7 minutes to let some water evaporate off and then set aside. 
4. Take your crumbled feta and place it in a paper towel and gently squeeze as much liquid out as possible. This step is especially important if your feta comes from a block that is stored in brine. Once squeezed, add to a food processor with the blade attachment.
5. To the food processor add the eggs, liquid smoke, ketchup, bread crumbs, almond flour and a tsp of salt. Process until mostly smooth. Add half of the bean & vegetable mix to the food processor and pulse for about 10-15 seconds until beginning to smooth but still with good texture. 
6. In a large bowl combine the rest of the whole beans and vegetables and the food processor mix. Mix with a large wooden spoon. Using a ½ cup measuring cup spoon the mixture out and form into patties and place them on a lined baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes flipping once at 10 minutes. 
7. Enjoy on your favorite burger buns. Some suggested delicious toppings are  a sweet hot pepper jelly, cheddar cheese, avocado, white onion and lettuce.