Spicy Bean Burgers

You know when you occasionally think of friends that you’ve lost touch with over the years and then wonder how on Earth things ended up this way? Well that’s exactly how I feel about spicy bean burgers in a crispy coating of golden breadcrumbs – perhaps even to a stronger degree. As they always contain either gluten, onion and/or garlic, it’s been something ridiculous like 15 years since I last ate one. Let’s just say that, after making my own, the reunion was so emotional that I might just be inspired enough to message my old school friends and see how they’re doing.

INGREDIENTS – Makes 5

1⁄2 x 400g (14oz) can of kidney beans, drained

• 1⁄2 x 400g (14oz) can of haricot (navy) beans, drained, reserving 100ml (generous 1⁄3 cup) of the water from the can

• 200g (7oz) frozen mixed veg (such as sweetcorn, peas, green beans and carrots)

• 1 tbsp water

• 1 tbsp garlic-infused oil

• 1 tsp tomato purée (paste)

• 1 tsp smoked paprika

• 1 tsp ground cumin

• 1⁄2 tsp cayenne pepper

• 1 tsp dried mixed herbs

• 1⁄2 tsp salt

• 4 tbsp gluten-free plain (all-purpose) flour

• 75g (11⁄4 cups) gluten-free breadcrumbs, plus an extra 120g (2 cups) to coat

• Vegetable oil in a spray bottle, for greasing

To serve

• 5 gluten-free burger buns

• 2 handfuls of iceberg lettuce, shredded

• 5 tsp mayonnaise

• 1 extra-large avocado, mashed with a pinch each of salt and ground black pepper

METHOD

Place the drained kidney and haricot beans in a large bowl (don’t forget to reserve some of the liquid from the haricot can!). Mash with a potato masher until all of the kidney beans are broken and many of the haricot beans are roughly broken.

Place the frozen mixed veg into a suitably sized, microwave-safe bowl and add the water. Loosely cover with a plate and microwave for 5 minutes on full power (900W) until completely cooked through. Drain and transfer to a chopping board, then use a sharp knife to chop up any larger pieces, ensuring they’re all roughly the same size as the peas and sweetcorn. Transfer to the bowl of crushed beans.

Add the remaining ingredients to the bowl, along with the reserved bean water. Mix for around a minute until everything is combined and evenly dispersed. Set aside to rest for 5–10 minutes to allow the breadcrumbs and flour to hydrate and the mixture to become a little more sticky. Meanwhile, spread the extra breadcrumbs out on a large dinner plate.

Take a tennis-ball-sized portion of the mixture (around a fifth of the total mixture) and roll into a tight ball. Flatten between your hands to form a patty around 2cm (3⁄4 inch) thick. Compress any loose pieces back into the patty, then place on the plate of breadcrumbs.

Without disturbing the patty too much and keeping it mostly in place, spoon breadcrumbs over the top and up the sides and then gently press them to the patty so that they stick.

Heat or preheat the air fryer to 180°C/350°F. Generously grease the base of the air fryer basket or crisping tray by spraying it with oil.

Transfer the burger to the air fryer and repeat for as many burgers that will comfortably fit into the air fryer without touching. Spray generously with oil and air fry for 12 minutes, flipping them over halfway through and generously spraying once more with oil, until the breadcrumbs are golden. Repeat with the rest of the burgers.

Serve in the burger buns with shredded iceberg, mayo and smashed avocado, alongside some sweet potato fries (page 41) and onion rings (page 181).

TIP: The use of store-bought gluten-free breadcrumbs is especially important in the bean burgers for binding purposes – using blitzed fresh gluten-free bread isn’t recommended as it’s far too absorbent and will turn to mush when hydrated! See page 24 for further explanation on my recommendation of store-bought gluten-free breadcrumbs.