Black Bean Burger and Homemade Hamburger Bun

This is super easy to put together once you have the ingredients ready. I was half way into making the patties when George popped up at our door. The good thing about cooking vegetarians is you can increase the serving size, easily, just by throwing in more vegetables.

Hamburger Bun:

We bought a packet of organic black beans the other day but didn't cook it because Adrian said it would take 5 hours to cook, which I will tell you in moment is not true. Anyway I found a black bean burger recipe that sounds good, and decided that's what I would do with the black beans. Then we were watching How to Cook Your Life. In the movie, Zen priest and chef Edward Espe Brown teaches people to be attentive in everyday dealings with the most mundane things and also open our eyes to one of the most beautiful occupations: cooking. Especially baking. The way Edward kneads and rolls the dough seems effortless, and inspiring. I asked Adrian "you think it's hard to make hamburger bun?" I quickly dropped the movie and went to consult Google. Didn't seem too difficult. It was then that I decided to make hamburger buns for the black bean burger, instead of the day-old french bread in the refrigerator. So pardon me I didn't watch the whole movie but I had work to do.

I went through a roller coaster of emotion with this. First I thought it went really well as I was kneading the dough - it felt very right. Then I was dismayed by the size - too small to make a decent hamburger. I also thought the bread was a bit to the hard side, but Adrian thought it was good. I was still skeptical and unsatisfied.

As it turned out, although the buns were too small to fit the black bean burger patty, both Adrian and George approved. George called them the Kaiwaii Mickey Mouse Ears Hamburger Bun (too long to make a copyright of it). He actually singled them out to be "especially the buns. I really like them). Guess who's taking home the extra bun.

(make 4 small buns)

• 1/3 cup warm water
• 1/3 teaspoon sugar
• 1/3 tablespoon dry yeast
• 1/4 cup warm whole milk
• 1 tablespoons sugar
• 1/2 Tablespoon butter, melted
• pinch teaspoons salt
• 1 cups all-purpose flour + a tablespoon or two of organic rye flour
  
• 1 egg white
• 1 teaspoon water
• white sesame seeds
  

1. Dissolve sugar in water. Stir in yeast to proof. Let it sit for 10 minutes until foamy.
   
2. Whisk together flour, salt, sugar, milk and melter butter. Add proofed yeast. Process with a electric mixer attached with kneader hooks. Blend until the dough is semi-sticky and holds around the hook. Add flour, a little bit at a time, if necessary.
3. Roll it out onto a floured surface. Knead for 7 - 8 minutes. Cover with damped towel for 10 minutes.
4. Grease a large boil with butter. Gently knead the dough for 30 seconds with hands. Place in the greased bowl and cover with damped towel for 60 - 80 minutes. Let rise in a warm place. The dough will double in size.
5. Punch down the dough. Divide it into 4 balls and place on a greased baking sheet. Cover with towel and let sit in a warm place for 30 - 40 minutes.
6. Preheat oven at 150C. Whisk together water and egg white. Carefully brush the top and sides of dough with egg mixture. Sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake in the oven for 20 - 25 minutes, until golden brown.
   

Black Bean Burger:

I had made some pretty good burger before but this one is more intricate because of the mixing with different vegetables; it looked vibrant and pretty on the plate. However the patty didn't hold up very well. Not enough bread crumbs?

I soaked the beans for a day before I cooked them. It took less than 2 hours to have them all cooked. With the fresh corns, I just boil them in hot water until they turned into bright yellow.

(make 3 patties)

• 11/2 cup cooked black beans
• 1 red onion, chopped
• 2 gloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 big red bell pepper, chopped
• 1/2 cup cooked corn kernels
• 1 orange chili pepper,chopped
  
• 1 - 2 teaspoon coriander powder
• 1 - 2 teaspoon American-style chili powder
• 3 Tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
• 1/4 cup bread crumbs
• Organic Rye flour
• Pure Coconut oil to fry
  

1. In a large bowl, mash the black beans. Throw in cooked corn kernels. Set aside.
2. Saute onions and garlic with a generous pinch of salt. Add red bell pepper and orange chili pepper. Stir in spices except parsley.
3. Stir the vegetable mixture into the black beans and corn mix. Add parsley and bread crumbs. Divide and shape the mixture into 3 patties. Store in the freezer for 10 minutes.
4. Remove patties from freezer. Coat them with flour.
5. Heat up a pan of coconut oil to boiling but not smokey. Turn the heat to medium. Fry the patties, about 3 minutes on each side.
   

To serve:

• Mango and Avocado Salsa
• Spinach leaves, chiffonade

Place spinach leaves on individual serving plates. Top with mango and avocado salsa and black bean burger. Serve buns on the side with a slate of butter.

Blossom Your Taste Buds to Vegetarian Wonders

Mia and I had this joke about the overt Anusara expression. So when I half-jokingly requested for a theme for the home-cook dinner at her house, she replied with "Blossom Your Taste Buds to Vegetarian Wonders/ - Anusara Mia". John Friend would have been proud.

Mia and Fredrik make the prefect Swedish couple I know. Everything about them just seem so perfect: the tidy white apartment (less so now that Ludvig is in their life), perfect manner, charming charisma, well dressed.... everything about them is just so..... CLEAN. They are like the couple in 70's Sci-fi movies. Like this (except they have blonde hair):

It was a fun night with great companions (and charming baby) where I gladly played Chef de Cuisine and Mia the Sous Chef, Fredrik the Chef de Plunge, and Adrian the Food de-Vourer. I simply can't bear the sight of the mess I made. God bless the dishwasher.

I didn't take the pictures of the dishes - didn't want to creep them out - hence the use of my old photos. Here's a rundown of our dinner menu:

Couscous and Spinach Pilaf with Labneh and Chili-roasted Tomatoes

Exactly the same recipe as Barley Pilaf with Roasted Vegetable and Deep Fried Goat Cheese. We made these changes:

• Labneh instead of deep fried goat cheese. Mia and Fredrik prepared homemade labneh the night before. It's flavored with minced garlic.
• Zucchini instead of pumpkin.
• Organic wholewheat couscous instead of cooked barley.

Again, this dish takes a while to prepare but works well with planning and it never fails to impress even the carnivores. Despite the rainbow combination of colorful vegetables and herbs, the unassuming, darkly colored, cinnamon-spiced lemony caramelized crispy onions always win. My Swedish friends were talking about making this for their non-vegetarian parents back in Sweden during Christmas.

Veggie Inside-out Lentil Burger

An adaptation of the Veggie Chickpea Burger. The patties are made up of lentils, eggs, onions and homemade breadcrumbs. Use black lentils if you may - they hold up the shape better than red lentils. We (or rather Fredrik) sliced the patties into two halves and used Couscous Pilaf as the filling. If you have extra labneh, spread them generously over the cut side of the patties. Mia liked the idea of turning patty into burger bun and called it the inside out burger.

Vegetarian Tortilla Soup

The combination of roasted tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes and goat cheese sends everyone into ecstasy. The oven-toasted tortilla shell (or taco shell) gave it an interesting crunch.

Vegan Coconut Chocolate Pudding

I was talking to Dan (our chef friend) the morning before and he mentioned "no matter what you cook, how good the main course is, dessert ALWAYS wins". Coming from a pro chef with years of experience, he must be right. This is a relatively easy dessert that you can make in advance. The secret is coconut milk. YUM~ I seriously need to work on my measuring skill: there were 3 large servings left at the end of the night. I took home one. It never hurts to have more chocolate.

Veggie Chickpea Burger

I have made this veggie burger many times now, with different ingredients every time. It never fails to impress - not so much about the recipe but the idea of serving it. Instead of sandwiching the veggie patty on burger bun, this brilliant idea turned the patty into bun by stuffing it with all sort of deliciousness. Some of the filling ideas: avocado, sprouts, onions, tomatoes, grilled vegetables, pesto, etc; let the world of culinary be your imagination!

I used chickpeas for the patty this time. Black Lentils, Black beans would work just as good. For the spread, I used saffron labneh. You can either buy from store or make your own. It's a kind of yogurt cheese Lebanese-style, or salted yogurt drained of whey.

Do you know that saffron is the most expensive spice in the world by weight? Its price varies from USD 500 to USD 5000 per pound. In the very beginning of my cooking adventure, I set out looking for saffron because I was totally mesmerized by its vividness in a lentil soup recipe. I was aghast by, but not entirely certain of, how expensive it was for content smaller than a matchbox.

Since I was a novice cook then, I didn't, and couldn't, think much outside the box. So I bought it. It sure serves as an impressive coloring with its golden yellow hue. It also imparts a metallic honey, hay-like aroma, with a transcendental subtlety of sweetness to taste.

I can't seem to find much notable nutritional value of saffron. Nevertheless, it's two active ingredients, crocin and safranal, have been shown to have antidepressant effects. Culturally, or traditionally, though,saffron has been valued for its, coloring and flavoring aside, medicinal properties. People apply it topically to improve skin condition and to treat acne. Internally, it is used to improve blood circulation, regulate menstruation, treat digestive disturbance, ease cough and asthmatic breathing, reduce fever and inflammation, calm nervousness and alleviate depression.

Since the olden days India, old ladies used to give the milk mixed with saffron for pregnant ladies so they can have fair beautiful babies. Others say it's for strong bones and smart baby.

In any case, I still have plenty of saffron thread left and I genuinely like the its vibrant color. So, let's get back to the saffron yogurt/ labneh:

Infuse approximately 10 threads of saffrons to 2 1 tablespoon of boiling water. Let seep for 5 minutes. Stir in 1/2 cup yogurt/ labneh. DONE. I also stir in some minced garlic for a more flavorful spread of labneh.

This is one of those great do-ahead dish; you may store them shaped, ready-to-cook in the refrigerator for up to a week.

Ingredients:
(makes 2 large patties)

• 1 cup cooked chickpeas
  
• 1 large eggs
• pinch of sea salt
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/3 onion, chopped
• lemon zest, grated
• 1/2 cup alfalfa sprouts (optional)
• avocado slices (optional)
• saffron-infused yogurt/ labneh (optional)
  
• 1/3 cup toasted whole-grain bread crumbs
• virgin coconut oil for frying
  

1. Combine the cooked lentils, egg, and salt in a food processor. Puree until the mixture resembles a very thick, slightly chunky hummus.
   
2. Pour into a mixing bowl and stir in the cilantro, onion, zest, and sprouts. Add the breadcrumbs, stir, and let sit for a couple of minutes so the crumbs can absorb some of the moisture. At this point, you should have a moist mixture that you can easily form into two 1 1/2-inch-thick patties. You can always add more bread crumbs a bit at a time to firm up the dough if need be. Alternately, a but of water or egg can be used to moisten the batter, giving it a more textured burger.
3. Heat the oil over medium low, add patties, cover, and cook for 7 to 10 minutes, until the bottoms begin to brown. Flip the patties and cook the second side for 7 minutes, or until golden.
   
4. Remove from the skillet and cool on a wire rack. Carefully cut each patty in half, insert your favorite fillings, and enjoy immediately.