B x 5: Black Bean Burgers & Buckwheat Buns

Well, husband-goes-vegan week has come to a close. He made it- stuck it out without cheating.

To celebrate, I made him tots of course. Because, after all, they are vegan.

And just to prove my point, a burger and tots can make a boy happy- meat or not.

Lunches turned out to be the hardest part for the husband, so during the week I made some black bean burgers, knowing they’d be easy to grab for lunch. We ended up not eating them all, so we saved them to go with the glorious tater tot celebration meal.

Black Bean Burgers

1/2 onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 red bell pepper, diced

1 stalk celery, diced

1 can black beans

1/2 cup old fashioned oatmeal

Spices: cumin, chili powder, coriander, cayenne pepper

Splash siracha or other hot sauce

Sauté the onions over medium heat until just beginning to brown. Add the garlic and bell pepper and cook for an additional 2 minutes.

Mix remaining ingredients together. Add onion and pepper mixture. Stir until comes together- might need to mash it a little.

Divide mixture into four sections. Roll each section into a ball and then flatten into a patty.

Cook over medium heat 3-4 minutes on each side, until starts to brown and is warmed through.

Buckwheat Buns

1 1/4 tsp active dry yeast

1/2 c warm water

1 T organic sugar

1 T canola oil

1/2 t salt

1 c bread flour (or all purpose) + extra 1/2 cup for kneading

1/2  buckwheat flour

1 T flaxseed + 3 Tbsp water

Sesame seeds

Mix water and flaxseed together.  Stir yeast and sugar into warm water. Set both aside.

Stir remaining ingredients together, then add flax and yeast mixtures. Mix dough until forms a ball. Remove dough from bowl and knead a few times until dough becomes slightly elastic. Depending how sticky the dough is, you may need to knead in the extra flour.

Place dough in oiled bowl. Cover and set in a warm place to rise for about an hour.

After an hour, punch down dough and form into rolls. This makes about four rolls. Let rise for another 30 minutes.

After the rolls have risen, brush lightly with water, then sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake for 15-20 minutes at 400 degrees.

Let cool slightly, then slice in half to make burger-ready buns.

Buckwheat buns + black bean burgers + arugula + ketchup + spicy brown mustard =

And then, if you’re celebrating, serve with tater tots + Old Bay.

See? Just because it’s vegan doesn’t mean it has to be good for you. Or has to taste bad.

What’s your favorite kind of burger?