Black Bean Burgers

I love black beans.

I love burgers.

And boy, do I love ketchup.

Even so, I have to admit that I was a little bit skeptical of this recipe for black bean burgers. Ketchup--on BLACK BEANS? I was not convinced. But the potential for greatness outweighed my skepticism, and we made them for dinner on Wednesday night.

This was one of those cases where good eats (black beans) + good eats (burgers) + good eats (ketchup) = FANTASTIC EATS. These burgers are so jam-packed full of flavor and spice that I immediately said to my husband, "We should make these again next week!" Oh, and we will.

The original recipe calls for sun-dried tomatoes, spinach, and a sun-dried tomato dressing to be used to top the burgers, but I took Melissa's advice and went for the traditional burger toppings. We used thin slices of cheddar, lettuce, tomato, and ketchup. But, in case you want to try the dressing, I've included the original recipe below.

Black Bean Burgers
(Source: Food Network, as seen on Delicious Meliscious)

Ingredients:
- 2 (15-ounce) cans black beans, drained and rinsed
- 2 shallots, minced
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon hot sauce
- 1 teaspoon freshly chopped cilantro leaves
- 1 egg white, slightly beaten
- 3 tablespoons whole-wheat flour
- 1/2 tablespoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon cracked black pepper
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- Spinach
- Sliced roasted red peppers, jarred
- Sliced red onion
- 4 multi-grain rolls (or your favorite hamburger rolls)
- Szechuan Tomato Dressing, recipe follows

Directions:
1. In a large bowl, finely mash the black beans with a potato masher or your hands. Add the shallots, red pepper flakes, smoked paprika, Worcestershire, hot sauce, cilantro, egg white, flour, salt and pepper. Mix well with a wooden spoon. Form into 4 patties and arrange on a platter.

2. In a large saute pan over medium-high heat, add the oil. Sear patties for 3 to 4 minutes on each side until they have a nice crust. Remove the patties to a paper towel lined platter. Assemble the sandwiches with a patty, some spinach, roasted red peppers and red onion on the multi-grain rolls. Top with a good drizzle of Szechuan Tomato Dressing and serve.

Szechuan Tomato Dressing:
- 1/4 cup Szechuan sauce
- 1/4 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon freshly chopped cilantro leaves
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper

In a small bowl, add the Szechuan sauce, tomatoes and cilantro. Whisk in the olive oil and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Use as a dressing for the black bean sandwiches.