Recipe: Vegan Black Bean Burgers

Makes 6 burgers

1/2 cup vital wheat gluten

1/2 cup plain whole-wheat bread crumbs

1 teaspoon chili powder

½ teaspoon cumin

¼ cup water

1 tablespoons tomato paste or ketchup

¼ cup finely chopped cilantro, optional

2 cloves garlic, finely grated or minced

½ small onion, grated

About 2 tablespoons olive oil plus olive oil spray

6 whole wheat hamburger buns

1. Mash the beans with a fork in a mixing bowl, leaving some of them half but none of them whole.

2. Add the wheat gluten, bread crumbs, chili powder, cumin, water, tomato paste and cilantro (if using). Grate or mince the garlic into the mixture or use a garlic press. Grate the onion by using the large-hole side of a box grater.

3. Mix everything together with a fork, and then proceed to knead with your hands, until the mixture is firm and uniformly mixed, about a minute.

4. Preheat a heavy-bottomed pan over medium heat.

5. Divide the burger mixture into six equal pieces. Roll each piece into a firm ball. Use your palm to press the ball down on a clean surface to form a patty that is about 1-½-inch thick. Press to make the patty flat on both sides.

6. Pour a thin layer of olive oil into the pan. Cook the patties three at a time for 5 minutes on each side, gently but firmly pressing down on them with a spatula. Spray with olive oil spray before turning over, for uniform browning. Once cooked, the patties should be very firm when you press down on them.

Note: Our tester thought 1-½-inch patties were too thick, so she made ½-inch patties.

From "Veganomicon The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook,"

by Isa Chandra Moskowitz & Terry Hope Romero