Black Bean {and bulgur wheat} burgers

This easy recipe has become a favorite around our house. It's based off a recipe from Simple Vegan by Good Housekeeping.

Southwestern Style Black Bean Bulgur Burgers

(makes 4 patties - doubling/tripling the recipe works fine)

Ingredients:

1 c. water
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 c. bulgur wheat
1 can black beans (rinsed and drained)**
6 oz nondairy plain yogurt (optional, keeps burgers together better, can also use plain or greek dairy yogurt, as long it is plain)
1/4 tsp ground allspice
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
2 cloves garlic
3 chopped green onions
1/2 tsp ground red pepper (aka cayenne)
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp chipotle chili pepper
1/4 tsp ground cumin

Directions:

1. Heat the water and salt in a microwave-safe dish. Once water is almost boiling, stir in bulgar. Continue heating until water is absorbed. Can also do this in a covered pan on the stove. Bulgar should get to the consistency of al-dente rice.
2. In a large bowl, mash beans (with a fork or potato masher) with 2 Tbsp yogurt until almost smooth.
3. Stir in bulgur and spices until combined. With lightly floured hands, shape mixture into 4 patties. Coat both sides of each patty with cooking spray.
4. Heat nonstick skillet over medium heat until hot. Add burgers and cook until lightly browned and heated through, browning both sides.

**You can throw the black beans directly into a colander and run some water over them until the water draining out is clear. Since this rinses all of the salt and extra liquid off the beans, you don't need to buy the expensive reduced-salt beans.  

Modifications/Notes:

• Make ahead of time - If you don't have time to do this all at once, or you want to plan ahead, you can make the mix and store it in the fridge for up to a week. I have not tried freezing but I imagine it would be ok, as long as you stirred thoroughly once thawing to allow any separated water to re-combine with the rest of the mix.
• Plain non-dairy yogurt - I can't usually find it, so I usually leave it out. The patties don't come together quite as well, so if yours aren't working - make it a sloppy joe!
• Black bean "Sloppy Joe" - Don't have time to form patties or your mix isn't coming together as well? Throw the whole mixture into a pan and cook until the mixture is thick enough to form. Then scoop onto buns and serve.
• Don't like these spices? Try whatever combination you fancy. This combination gives you Southwestern-style spice. If you want the burgers less spicy decrease or omit the red pepper, black pepper and chili pepper.
• Grilling - I have not yet tried these on an actual grill. They don't have quite the solid consistency to actually put on a grill unless you put foil on the grill. 

My Inspiration -
I get inspiration from many cookbooks, including these:
Vegan Indian Cooking by Anupy Singla
The New Vegan Cookbook by Lorna Sass
Simple Vegan by Good Housekeeping
Family Vegetarian Cooking by Good Housekeeping
The Sexy Vegan Cookbook by Brian Patton