insideSUSSEX Magazine Issue 14 - April 2016 | Page 29

BLACK BEAN BURGERS Makes 6 burgers Prep time: 20-30 min Cook time: 5-10 min Satisfying meat-free burgers which are delicious sandwiched between burger buns with all the toppings – sliced pickles, tomato, onion, lettuce, Thousand Island dressing and mustard! Ingredients • 400g tin black beans or kidney beans, drained • 2 tablespoons light olive oil, or 30g butter, for cooking • 1 medium red onion, finely chopped • 140g mushrooms, finely chopped • 2 tablespoons tamari (for glutenfree option) or soy sauce • 1 clove garlic, finely chopped • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley, or 1 teaspoon dried mixed herbs • 1 spring onion, finely chopped • 1/2 teaspoon chilli flakes (optional) • 4 tablespoons buckwheat flour (for gluten-free option) or plain or spelt flour • 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast flakes, or 1/2 teaspoon Marmite (optional) • black pepper, to taste • 3 tablespoons vegetable oil (if not cooking on the barbecue), for frying Transfer the mixture to a bowl and leave to cool slightly before mixing in the flour, nutritional yeast flakes (or Marmite) and black pepper to taste. Divide the mixture into six portions and, using your hands, mould each portion into a patty shape (about 1.5 cm thick and 8 cm wide). To fry the burgers, heat the 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil in a medium to large frying pan and cook the burgers over a medium heat for about 2 minutes on each side, or until golden brown all over. If cooking on the barbecue, chill the burgers in the fridge or freeze them for a couple of hours. Then grill on both sides until golden brown and cooked through. Method Put the beans into a large bowl and roughly mash them with a potato masher, or blend them in a food processor for a few seconds. You want them to keep some texture, so do not over-mash them. Heat the olive oil (or butter) in a medium frying pan, then sauté the onion for 3 minutes. Add the mushrooms and tamari (or soy sauce) and fry for a few more minutes, until most of the mushroom juice has evaporated. Stir in the garlic, herbs, spring onion, chilli flakes and mashed beans, then allow the mixture to cook for about 2 minutes, stirring often. Recipe from Mary McCartney’s cookbook, At My Table: Vegetarian Feasts for Family and Friends, published by Chatto & Windus in hardback at £20. Photography by Mary McCartney. Some food for thought… • Meat production is responsible for 14.5 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions, according to the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization, with some scientists saying the percentage is higher. • Skipping meat for one day a week can reduce your annual carbon footprint by as much as not driving your car for a whole month. • 800 million people suffer from malnutrition, yet an amount of cereal which could feed three times this number of people is fed to farmed animals www.meatfreemondays.com @MeatFreeMonday 29 /supportmfm