Black Bean Burgers with sweet potato fries and BBQ-sauce | v + gf

Hello friends! Yes, I’m still alive and I know that it has been way too long since my last blog post (again!) I haven’t even updated Instagram as frequently as I use to. It feels kinda weird because connecting with you is the most important part of this whole blog business thing ? But these last couple of weeks have been pretty crazy. I’ve got a bunch of new clients, which means a lot of meetings, brainstorming sessions, location scouting, photo sessions and editing, oh so much editing. It’s so, so much fun and hopefully, I’ll be able to share some of the work with you soon.

I actually have a few new blog posts/recipes in the pipeline, but I haven’t managed to finish them yet, but they’ll be ready soon. I just need to come back to the organized way of working again. As I wrote in my last blog post, I get a billion ideas but I’m not finishing any of them. Therefore, I’m sitting here with a bunch of blog posts that are almost ready. I just can’t get myself to finish them. Instead, I’m doing everything else, like staring at the wall and all of a sudden getting the idea that if I place the desk on the opposite wall, working will become so much easier.

So I end up changing the entire home office and two hours later I still haven’t finished a single blog post. Am I the only one? Luckily, I know that this is just a phase. In a few days, I’ll be back as my organized self again. And then I’ll have a bunch of new blog posts popping up. Like a super simple veggie tray, pulled jackfruit tacos, a blue mermaid latte and a post about organic skincare for traveling. Speaking of traveling, it seems like it will be a few more trips this year. One food-themed, which I’m super excited about.

As you can hear, there are a lot of things going on right now. I have a feeling that 2018 will be a good year when it comes to my business 🙂 When this busy period is over, I think I’ll take half a day off from work and visit my hairdresser, let her do something about my hair. And now that I’ve started to think about getting a haircut, I won’t be able to stop until I’ve made an appointment. It’s always like that ?‍♀️

If there’s one positive thing about being in an inspirational phase (where you come up with ideas but not get anything done) it’s how much easier recipe development goes. I’ve struggled with my black bean burgers for so long, but this weekend I just nailed it. All of a sudden I knew exactly what was missing and what I had done wrong. Bye, bye smoked paprika and hello black rice!

So I guess I did finish something (the recipe), but then it took me three days to get it up on the blog ? Anyway, I’m super happy with this recipe. The texture is really nice and the flavors are just great. I often have a problem with the texture of veggie burgers, they’re either too soft or too crispy, i.e. cooked in too much oil. Frying is something restaurants often do because they don’t know how to prepare plant-based food. So they cover the food with oil and hope for the best. Sorry, not sorry. Learning how to make a great veggie burger takes time, obviously, but it’s so worth it when you finally nail it. Served with sweet potato, veggies, and a spicy BBQ-sauce these burgers are simply amazing (if I may say so…). Don’t wanna brag or something.

Ok, then. Let’s head over to the recipe.

Love, Sofia

Black bean burgers

6 burgers 

240 g black beans (canned)
2 dl cooked black rice
2 tbsp sunflower seeds
1 1/2 dl rice flour
1 tbsp psyllium husk
1/2 tbsp chia seeds
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp ground coriander
pinch of cayenne pepper
pinch of chili pepper

non-flavored coconut oil for cooking

BBQ dressing

2 dl Plant sour cream
2 tbsp organic BBQ sauce
1/2 – 1 tsp sriracha sauce (chili sauce)

to serve

2 Sweet potatoes
1 Cucumber
2 Avocados
50 g spinach
6 burger buns (use glutenfree if allergic)
Alfalfa sprouts

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 225°C.

2. Slice the sweet potatoes, or cut them into fries. Place them on a parchment paper covered baking sheet and sprinkle with salt. I prefer to not use oil, but if you want, you can drizzle the sweet potatoes with a little oil.

3. Bake the potatoes in the middle of the oven for about 20-30 minutes, or until golden and a little crispy. If you don’t use oil (like me), it normally takes a little longer until the potatoes are ready, just so you know.

4. Place black beans, rice and sunflower seeds in a blender and mix until you have a smooth batter.

5. Add flour, psyllium husk, chia seeds and all the spices and stir together.

6. Let the batter rest for 10-15 minutes.

7. Turn the batter into 6 equally sized balls, then flatten each one to a burger.

8. Heat up a little coconut oil in a frying pan and cook the burgers for about 5 minutes over medium heat. They should be brown and crispy.

9. Flip the burgers around and cook for another couple of minutes.

10. Slice up the vegetables and stir together the ingredients for the BBQ-sauce.

11. Fill the burger buns with spinach, slices of cucumber and avocado, a black bean burger, a dollop of BBQ-sauce and some alfalfa sprouts.

12. Serve the burgers with the sweet potato fries and enjoy!