Caribbean Black Bean & Couscous Burger
These veggie black bean burgers are based on Ainsley’s delicious Island Black Bean Burgers from his book, Ainsley’s Good Mood Food. We’ve used our Caribbean inspired Couscous for a punch of spice and the crunchy peanut butter and cashew nuts adds a nice bit of texture. We love them spicy, but you can leave the chilli out if you prefer. If you have a nut allergy, try using tahini in place of the peanut butter, and stir in some sunflower seeds instead of the cashews.
Method
Prepare the couscous according to the packet instructions. Fluff with a fork and set aside to cool.
Heat a small drizzle of oil in a frying pan, add the onion and pepper and gently sweat over a low-medium heat for 3–4 minutes until a little softened. Add the garlic, chilli and jerk seasoning and cook for another 30 seconds until fragrant. Set aside to cool.
Pulse the nuts in a food processor until coarsely chopped, then tip into a large bowl. Put the softened onion and pepper, half the black beans, peanut butter, mayo, breadcrumbs, coriander and lime zest into the food processor. Season well and blitz for 30–45 seconds until well combined. Scrape the mixture from the sides and blitz again until combined but still with plenty of texture. Transfer to the bowl with the nuts, couscous and remaining beans and mix well with your hands, adding a little more peanut butter or mayonnaise if the mixture is too dry, or breadcrumbs if too wet. Divide the mixture evenly into 4 and shape into burger patties with your hands. Cover and chill for 30 minutes to firm up.
In a small bowl, mix together the hot pepper mayo ingredients and set aside.
Heat a frying pan over a medium-high heat and add the oil. When hot, add the burgers, reduce the heat to medium and cook for 3–4 minutes without moving. Gently turn over and cook on the other side for 3–4 minutes or until heated through and a crust has formed. (Alternatively, spray the burgers with oil and bake in the oven at 200°C/180°C fan/gas 6 for 12–15 minutes or until crispy.)
Lightly char or toast the burger buns, then spread a dollop of the hot pepper mayo onto the base. Add some shredded lettuce, top with a burger and some sliced avocado and tomato. Top with a little more hot pepper mayo and finish with the burger bun top.
Ingredients
- 1 x packet of Ainsley Harriott Caribbean inspired Couscous
- 2 tbsp sunflower or coconut oil, plus extra for drizzling
- ½ red onion, finely chopped
- ½ red pepper, de-seeded and finely diced
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1 medium-hot red chilli, de-seeded and finely chopped
- 1 tbsp jerk seasoning
- 45g cashew nuts
- 1 x 400g tin black beans, drained, rinsed and patted dry
- 1 heaped tbsp crunchy peanut butter
- ½ tbsp mayo
- 25g panko breadcrumbs
- a handful of coriander leaves
- zest of ½ lime
- 2 tbsp coconut oil
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper