Spicy Bean Burgers with Avocado Salsa

Pippa Kendrick

Gluten free, soy free, yeast free. These little burgers make such a great, summery dish. If it’s truly hot outside then these are easily transferred to the barbeque to cook.

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Ingredients

1 large red onion
2 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves of garlic
2 medium courgettes
2 medium carrots
1 x 400g tin of kidney beans
100g cooked rice
1 tbsp harissa paste
2 tbsp crunchy peanut butter, or use sunflower seed butter if making nut free
A small bunch of coriander
50g sesame seeds
For the avocado salsa:
½ yellow pepper
2 tomatoes
1 large ripe avocado
2 tomatoes
½ a small red onion
1 red chilli
Juice of 2 limes
A small bunch of coriander

Gluten free, soy free, yeast free. These little burgers make such a great, summery dish. If it’s truly hot outside then these are easily transferred to the barbeque to cook.

Preparation

I like to use the outer leaves of an iceberg lettuce to wrap round the burgers, acting as a crisp bun. That way you can add the salsa and perhaps a little hummus to make a real feast of it. It’s really important that you grate the carrot and courgette by hand as using a food processor can make them very soggy. Makes 10 burgers

Method

Place the tomatoes in a bowl and pour over boiling water, leave for 1 minute, drain the water off and gently remove the skin by peeling it off with a small sharp knife. Cut the tomatoes in half and using a teaspoon, scoop out the seeds and discard. Set the remaining tomato flesh aside.

Finely dice the onion, deseed the chilli and chop very finely. Slice the avocado in half, remove the stone and then using a spoon scoop out the flesh in one half and then finely chop. Slice the tomato flesh and yellow pepper into very small juice and then combine all of the ingredients into a bowl. Pour over the lime juice, finely chop the coriander and stir through. Season to taste, cover and leave to stand in the fridge until ready to use.

Finely chop the onion and crush the garlic. Trim the ends from the courgette and carrots and then coarsely grate using a hand held grater. Finely chop the coriander and set aside. Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a large frying pan and add the onion, fry gently for around 5 minutes or until softened and slightly coloured at the edges. Add the garlic, courgettes and carrots to the pan, turn up the heat to medium – high and fry for a further 5 minutes, stirring regularly, until the carrots and courgettes have softened and cooked through.

Add the peanut butter and harissa to the pan, season well and continue to cook for 3 minutes, stirring regularly, until blended with the vegetables. Take off the heat and leave to stand for five minutes or until cool enough to handle. Meanwhile, drain and rinse the kidney beans and place them in a food processor. Blitz until you have a smooth paste and then transfer to a large mixing bowl. Alternatively, you can place the kidney beans into the mixing bowl and mash by hand, using a fork, until you have a thick paste.

Add the cooked rice, coriander and vegetable mixture to the beans and beat together until combined and pulled into a large ball. Take a handful of the mixture – about 3 tablespoons worth – and shape into a patty approximately 2 inches in diameter and 1 inch thick. Scatter the sesame seeds over a flat plate, season and mix together before lightly rolling the burgers in them so that they are evenly coated. Cover the burgers in clingfilm and refrigerate for 1 hour before cooking.

When ready to cook, heat the remaining olive oil in a large frying pan and cook for about 10 minutes, turning over once or twice, until golden brown and cooked through.