Black Bean Veggie Burger

📝 Ingredients

• 2 tins black beans (480 g drained)
• 60 g rolled oats
• 1 egg
• 1 red onion
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 tsp cumin, 1 tsp smoked paprika, salt, pepper
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 4 slices cheddar (80 g)
• 4 wholemeal burger buns
• 100 g Greek yoghurt + 1 tsp hot sauce
• 1 tomato and 4 lettuce leaves
• 1 ripe avocado

🍴 Utensils

• Non-stick frying pan with lid
• Mixing bowl
• Potato masher or fork
• Blender or food processor
• Spatula
• Kitchen paper

📖 Steps

1. Drain and rinse the black beans, then spread them out on kitchen paper and pat dry. The drier they are, the better the patties will hold together: this is the key step to stop them falling apart.
2. Blitz the oats into a coarse flour. Peel the red onion, finely chop half of it for the patties and cut the other half into thin rings for assembling. Peel and chop the garlic.
3. In the mixing bowl, mash the beans with the potato masher, leaving about a quarter whole or in pieces for texture. Add the chopped onion, garlic, blended oats, egg, cumin, paprika, salt and pepper.
4. Mix until you have a mixture that holds together when pressed; if it's too sticky, wait 5 minutes for the oats to absorb the moisture. Shape 4 patties 1.5 cm thick, slightly wider than the buns, and chill them for 20 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, mix the Greek yoghurt and hot sauce in a bowl. Wash the tomato and lettuce and slice the tomato. Halve the avocado, remove the stone and slice the flesh.
6. Heat the oil in the frying pan over a medium heat. Cook the patties for 4 to 5 minutes without touching them, until a golden crust forms, then carefully flip them with the spatula and cook for another 4 minutes.
7. Place a slice of cheddar on each patty for the last minute of cooking and cover the pan to melt the cheese. Meanwhile, toast the halved buns in the toaster or oven.
8. Spread the base of each bun with yoghurt sauce, then add the lettuce, the cheddar-topped patty, tomato, avocado and red onion rings. Close with the top, spread with the rest of the sauce, and serve straight away.