Try Something New: The £1.99 Bean Burger

I'm a big fan of the veggie burger. And believe me I'll eat them all. I like the trying to taste like meat but not really managing it kind, I like the mashed potato and bits of veg variety. Aside from the egg issue Quorn makes me violently ill. But any other type of veggie burger I'll eat it and, most likely love it.

But as veggie burgers end up being fast food staples or freezer food for days I'm in a funk I've never seriously considered making one. But it is Mofo. And I had what looked like a simple recipe in The Little Bean Cookbook by Patricia Stapley. I found the book in Oxfam and it was £1.99 so home it came.

The burgers are made of black bean mash, seasoned and fried. Pan fried. And every time I pan fry something like this I think I'll never pan fry anything again. It's just stressful trying to get the timing right. Especially when one second could take you from 'not solid enough to flip' to 'A black bean so charred I could chip a tooth on it'.

But we survived that ordeal and the burgers, while not spectacular on their own, make a fantastic vehicle for any toppings you have on hand.