Vegan Black Bean Burgers & Herbal Butter

Enjoy these delicious homemade black bean burgers and herbal butter at your next barbecue (or at home).

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The sun is coming out, the birds are chirping and the pollen is irritating my throat, nose and eyes more than ever before. It is Spring!

If you want to get outside and go for a picnic or barbecue, here are a few ideas for some delicious vegan or vegetarian homemade meals you can take with you or (partially) make there.

Homemade Vegan Black Bean Burgers

Here is a good recipe for delicious, homemade black bean burgers (especially good if your favorite pre-made veggie burger has hexane in it):

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of black beans (need to be soaked before cooking)
• ½ cup of whole wheat or all-purpose flour
• ¼ cup of cornmeal
• ½ cup of smashed tomatoes (without skins and seeds) or spicy tomato sauce
• ½ bunch of fresh Italian parsley
• 2 tsp of ground cumin
• 1 tsp of garlic salt

Cook 2 cups of black beans (after soaking), wait until they’re cold and then place the beans in a food processor and process for a bit. Add flour, cornmeal, smashed tomatoes or spicy tomato sauce, chopped Italian parsley, ground cumin and garlic salt. Everything needs to be well combined. Then transform the mixture into balls (you should be able to create 6 or 7), wrap them in aluminum foil and refrigerate for a few hours until they are firm. When the grill is warm enough, take the black bean balls out of the fridge and form each ball into a patty burger. Grill them 4-5 minutes on each side. (You can also cook these on a pan or in a toaster oven.)

Herbal Butter

Another great idea to make for a vegetarian barbeque is herbal butter. You can add this to grilled baguettes, corn cobs, grilled eggplants, zucchinis or tomatoes, as well as to your black bean burgers! And this is actually easy and quick to make.

Ingredients:

• 1 stick of butter (vegan or non)
• Fresh herbs: basil, thyme, rosemary, marjoram, parsley, green onion, mint
• Fresh garlic
• A pinch of salt and pepper

The amount of herbs should be based on your own preferences. Wash the herbs and chop them all, then mix with chopped garlic. Add a pinch of salt and pepper and mix everything with soft butter. Place in the refrigerator for about half an hour to one hour until it gets harder and full of herbal aroma. Enjoy during your barbecue or for any other occasion.

Enjoy some delicious homemade black bean burgers and herbal butter with a nice fresh salad at your next barbecue!

Image Credit: amber in norfolk via flickr/CC license

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