Once again I find myself writing about the all encompassing black bean. Not on purpose, but my husband and I stumbled upon an amazing family owned business, Mecca Family Farms. https://www.facebook.com/MeccaFamilyFarms/ They were offering FANTASTIC quarantine curbside service of FRESH produce boxes at just $10 a pop!

We never left the car and received no contact, fast and friendly service. We got 3 incredible boxes that made one heck of a cornucopia. With all the produce we received, of course my first instinct was a taco night…until I remembered I already had black beans soaking from the night prior to make a soup, therefore…black bean burgers accompanied by the most delicious corn, tomatoes, cubanelle peppers, and poblano peppers all provided by the lovely people at Mecca Family Farms. If you have not already been there, please go check them out.

We can’t thank them enough for serving the community in such uncertain times.

Farm to Table at it’s Finest

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I Started with Charring the Veggies

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Preheat the broiler to high, Olive oil the veggies, heat on top rack under the broiler until desired color and texture, EASY!

My husband made some fresh pico while I started everything else. I added the roasted peppers and corn to the pico de gallo to use as my side dish. As well as, the roasted peppers for the black bean mixture. My mouth is watering.

Black Bean Recipe

I adapted a black bean burger recipe from one of my favorite Chef’s. https://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/black-bean-burger/ Please check out this recipe for reference if you would like! I switched up her recipe a tad as to it’s quarantine time and I didn’t have a few of the ingredients. Here is what I did….

• Black Beans ( 1 bag dried beans soaked overnight in water, brought to a boil and simmered for 2 hours with a bay leaf and then drained and cooled)
• Handful of Cilantro
• 1/2c to 3/4c Panko Breadcrumbs
• 1 Egg
• Pinch of Salt and Pepper
• Adobo Powder
• Added some roasted chili peppers that I also used for my side and cheese sauce

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To Make the Patties

I simply added the cooled beans to a mixing bowl and smashed the little suckers.

I tried to keep some beans in tact to really give the proper texture of a “real” burger.

I added the seasonings, breadcrumbs, and egg until combined.

While I heated a pan on medium heat with olive oil, I prepared 4 patties by hand.

I had some beans leftover that I repurposed after dinner, we will get to that later.

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I placed the black bean patties in the preheated pan for about 4 mins on each side. While they cooked, I prepared the cheese sauce.

Simple Cheese Sauce…I winged this one.

In a nonstick skillet, I made a roux with butter and flour over medium heat.

After whisking the flour and butter for a minute, I slowly whisked in milk. I am not sure how much, maybe 3/4 of a cup!

You can add more to make it even cheesier. I added a few tablespoons of cream cheese and shredded mozzarella and kept on whisking until the cheese was ooey and gooey.

After it reached the consistency I was happy with (after about 3-4 mins) I added some of my roasted chili peppers and poblano. YUM!

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I broiled my corn tortillas for about 30 seconds on each side until crispy. Topped my tortillas with the burgers, red onion, sliced tomato, CHEESE SAUCE, fresh cilantro, and pickled jalapeños… What more could you want?

Side note, after dinner…just to add a little more mess in the kitchen, I added the leftover black beans and charred veggies that did not make it into the evenings dinner into my handy-dandy blender. With some added vegetable stock and cilantro, I let it whirl and BOOM…black bean soup for leftovers.