Southwestern Bean Burgers with Jalapeno Guacamole and Chipotle Fries

Recently, I wanted to make black bean burgers for my beautiful Angel.  I soon learned that there are a seemingly endless number of black bean burger recipes on the Internet.  I reviewed several of those recipes, but none of them really stood out to me.  As I began to wonder what to do, I came across a recipe for Southwestern Black Bean Burgers for Chipotle Sweet Potato Fries, which was provided by Katherine Martinelli on her website.  The recipe incorporated chipotle peppers and adobo into the burgers.  I have previously professed my love for chipotle peppers in connection with The Inferno Steak recipe.  So, with the opportunity to use chipotle chiles, I chose Martinelli's black bean burger recipe.  

As I got ready to make the dish, I made a couple of changes to the recipe.  The biggest change was the substitution of sweet potatoes with regular potatoes.  I am not a big fan of sweet potatoes and so I decided that I would use Russet potatoes in their place.  The other major change is that I decided that I would make a guacamole to serve with the bean burgers.  I found a fairly basic recipe for guacamole on the Internet, which was posted by Bargain Briana, and I was ready to make the meal.

There was one curveball.  I bought all of the ingredients that I needed for the black bean burgers, fries and guacamole, except one ... the buns.   Unwilling to head back out to the grocery store, I decided to improvise and used slices of a beefsteak tomato for the "buns."  The tomato slices actually were much better than a bun, the substitution reduced the amount of carbohydrates and lightened the dish. 

SOUTHWESTERN BLACK BEAN BURGERS WITH 

JALAPENO GUACAMOLE AND CHIPOTLE FRIES 

Recipe for the burgers and fries adapted from Katherine Martelli

Recipe for the guacamole adapted from Bargain Briana

Serves 2 to 4

Ingredients (for the burgers):

1 (14 ounce) can of black beans, drained and rinsed

1/2 cup of corn kernels (defrosted, if frozen)

1 chipotle in adobo (from can, reserve the rest for later)

1/2 teaspoon adobo liquid

1/4 cup of cilantro, chopped

1 egg

1 cup of bread crumbs

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1 very large beefs steak tomato

Salt

Ground pepper

Ingredients (for the Chipotle Fries):

2 Russet potatoes, cut into thick matchsticks

1/4 cup olive oil

1/2 teaspoon of chipotle powder

Ingredients (for the Jalapeno Guacamole):

2 avocados, ripe

1 red onion, diced

1 lime

1/2 bunch of cilantro

Salt

Pepper

Directions:

1.  Prepare the chipotle fries. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.  Toss the fries with the olive oil, chipotle powder and salt.  Lay the fries on a baking sheet and bake for 30 to 45 minutes, until tender and starting to get crispy.   Shake the fries halfway through the baking.  

2.  Prepare the bean burgers.  Put the black beans, corn, chipotle, adobo liquid and cilantro in a food processor.  Transfer to a bowl, add the egg, bread crumbs and garlic powder.  Mix all of the ingredients together.  Season with salt and pepper.  Form into two large or four small even patties.  Place the patties on a baking sheet and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes.  

3.  Prepare the jalapeno guacamole.  Add the avocados, red onion, lime juice, jalapeno pepper, cilantro, salt and pepper in a bowl.  Mash the avocados and all of the other ingredients until the desired consistency is reached.  

4.  Cook the burgers.  Heat the vegetable oil in a skillet over medium heat.  Add the black bean burgers and cook until browned on both sides, flipping once, about 8 minutes total. 

Overall, this dish impressed me.  I am not a big fan of black bean burgers, but the use of chipotle peppers in the mix really provided the burger with a spicy, smoky kick.  Clare really liked this dish as well, which means that I'll be making it again. 

ENJOY!