More From The TEFL Kitchen: Black Bean Burgers

black-beans1.jpgIngredients:

  • Some black beans
  • Corn
  • Finely diced onion
  • Water
  • Flour or breadcrumbs

As my readers may have figured out by now, most of my recipes (well, the ones that don’t come from my mom, like banana bread) aren’t very specific. Instead of measurements, they are proceeded with an implied “use your judgment!”

I’m now a believer that black beans are available nearly everywhere. Perhaps not the canned variety, but in their raw form, this vegetarian staple abounds. Yes, you have to soak them for 24 hours or more, which, despite all the lesson planning EFL teachers do, often proves to be too long to plan in advance, but black beans are worth it.

I prefer to soak them for 36 hours of so, then blend them up with an immersion blender (and if you followed my advice in the Top 10 Kitchen Utensils you’ve got one of these!) Add some corn and diced onion and stir with a spoon, adding water if necessary and as much flour or breadcrumbs as it takes to allow a “burger” to stick together.

You can bake or fry and then serve as you like. They actually look like hamburgers, and with the right toppings, you can make yourself believe they are…but they definitely don’t taste like meat. Possible toppings include salsa, ketchup or a local sauce you like. If you’ve got an avocado in the right state of ripeness, some lemon juice, tomatoes, olive oil and garlic (obviously you’ve got onions if you made the black bean burgers) you can whip up your own guacamole.

For one more TEFL Logue recipe (the universal pasta sauce) see Where There Is No McDonald’s: Cooking Abroad.

Here’s the challenge: If any of my fellow EFL bloggers (or readers) can submit another delicious international recipe (and that means I must be able to find the ingredients or reasonable substitutes HERE), I’ll cook it up and make a post about it, maybe even with a picture if I’m feeling nice. If it’s really good, it might even get added to the menu of my next Thanksgiving dinner. Remember, I’m a recovering vegetarian – this means while I’m willing to eat some meat – I don’t really cook it yet.