Buckwheat, Black bean and Halloumi Burgers
The disaster that eventually befell these burgers was not all reflective of what the one that survived tasted like. It was intense in flavour, the combination of the meatiness of black beans, countered with a tangy chimichurri. Absolutely cracking.
Ingredients
4 Buns
600g Black Beans
200g Buckwheat
1/2 Cup of Breadcrumbs
3 Eggs
4 Tablespoons Olive Oil
2 Tablespoons Lemon Juice
1 Jalapeño or other Spicy Pepper, finely diced
3 Teaspoons Garlic Powder
3 Teaspoons Sweet Paprika
Small Bunch of Fresh Coriander, leaves removed/sliced, stalks finely minced
1 Block of Halloumi Cut into 5mm slices
Bean Sprouts
Spinach Leaves
Salt
Pepper
1 Red Onion, cut into rings
Mayonnaise
For the Chimichurri
1 Bunch of Parlsey
1/4 Cup Oregano Leaves
Red Wine Vinegar
2 Cloves of Garlic
1/2 a chili
Olive Oil
Salt
Pepper
Method
Put the black beans into a pot and cover with water. Do the same to the buckwheat in a separate pot, but with quite a bit more water - they'll be drained.
Add the olive oil, lemon juice, coriander stalks and jalapeño. Bring both pots to a boil, until tender.
Once tender, pour two thirds the black beans and all of their juices into a blender, and blend until smooth.
Drain the buckwheat. Add it to the whole black beans. From there, add the black bean paste, garlic powder, sliced coriander and sweet paprika. Mix well. Salt and pepper to taste - this is the best opportunity to do it - the mixture is basically cooked now. Let the mixture cool; you don't want the egg cooking before you cook the patty.
Once the mixture is cool, add the eggs. Mix them into the mixture really well. Form in them into nice thick patties, then coat them in bread crumbs. They're now ready to fry.
With the chimichurri, finely mince the parsley with a good sharp knife. Mince the garlic and chili in as well, along with a couple of decent pinches of salt. Move to a bowl with the oregano leaves, and marinate for ten minutes in a quarter cup of red wine vinegar. After ten minutes, mix in half a cup of olive oil. Salt and pepper to taste.
Fry your halloumi slices in one pan, the burger patties for 7-8 minutes each side in a generous lug of olive oil.
Assemble the burger as above. Salt and pepper that puppy. If you want some hot sauce, get it on there as well. I had it with some mandarin segements. A sweet little offset to all the spicy activity.
Enjoy!
