Black Bean and Pepper Jack Burgers

I might as well call this the Bean Blog because there's a bit of an overabundance of bean posts.  This may be a bit boring but it's my journal and the truth is I love them and look for opportunities to make them into dinner as often as I can.   I find them very satisfying to the belly and a great weeknight option.  They can be made from items easily attainable at any of the corner fruit markets that are common in our Chicago neighborhoods  So I don't have to go to a supermarket (always a good thing.)

This particular recipe, Black Bean and Pepper Jack Burgers was chosen because it got really good reviews on the Fine Cooking website (this is free content, so the link to the recipe should work.)  Looking at the ingedients, I figured it couldn't possibly be bad.  More amazing about it is that there's half a cup of old fashioned rolled oats included in the mixture.  That an eighth of a cup per burger and you will never notice.  Besides that, the general cast of mexican flavors is represented:  beans, pepper jack cheese, cilantro,  green onions, cumin for spice and an egg to bind.  Basically, it is all mixed into a bean paste and then formed into patties to chill.  Then they are cooked until nicely browned on both sides.  A cast iron skillet will give you the sear you really want.

Toasted buns elevate any burger. Seriously, it makes a huge difference.

Toasty and warm.

I served on toasted buns with some salsa and avocado for toppings.  We were really happy with these.  Even my 8yr old agreed that the bean patty was tasty, though he didn't want a bun.