Black Bean Burgers with Poached Egg and Chipotle-Cumin Yogurt Dressing

I love black bean burgers and more importantly, so does Ann. She asks me to make them often and they have been a regular part of our diet for a very long time. This time, I wanted to do something that felt a little bit rich and bad, so I topped two black bean burgers with a poached egg and some chipotle-cumin yogurt dressing. Super delicious!

Black Bean Burgers with
Poached Egg and Chipotle-Cumin Yogurt Dressing

Each time I make black bean burgers, the technique is more or less the same, while the ingredients vary slightly based on what I have on hand.

Soffrito Mise en Place

Chopped Soffrito Vegetables Less Garlic

My soffrito for black bean burgers always contains onions (in this case, red, yellow, green, and garlic), peppers (in this case, two poblanos, a serrano, and a red frying pepper), and a bunch of cilantro. I was just cleaning out the refrigerator and this is what I had on hand.

Drained and Rinsed Black Beans

The procedure is simple. Start the soffrito cooking in a large pan and add some ground cumin and ground chile. Once the onions are translucent, add the beans and a little water. Bring to a simmer and adjust the seasoning by adding more spice, salt, and cumin to taste. Mash a few beans to let their starch start thickening the mixture. Let cook 20 minutes or so for all the seasonings to meld and for the beans to get thick.

The bean mixture needs to be really stiff to hold together in patties. Add panko or masa little by little until the mixture is stiff and then refrigerate overnight to get really cold and stiff.

Freshly Pattied Burgers

When the beans are cold and stiff, mold four-ounce balls of beans into burgers. I would not try to go bigger than four ounces: it will prove difficult to keep larger patties intact as they heat during frying. I serve two four-ounce patties per person rather than one large patty.

Frying the Patties

Although not necessary, the texture of the burgers will be much better if you get a good crust on them. Plus, the crust helps hold the burgers together. For these reasons, I dip the flat surfaces of the burgers in either panko or a thin layer of Wondra before they hit the frying pan. For more on Wondra, I did a small bit on the restaurant blog back in 2009.

Don't These Look Delicious?

While black bean burgers are really tasty and fun vegetarian fare, you can really take them to the next level with a poached egg and a little yogurt dressing.