Recipe: Red bean and mushroom burger

Vegetarians and meat lovers alike will enjoy the red bean and mushroom burger. These healthy, low-fat veggie burgers are the perfect substitute for the meaty burgers.

Ingredients
•1 tbsp. olive oil, plus extra for brushing
•1 small onion, finely chopped
•1 garlic clove, crushed
•1 tsp ground cumin
•1 tsp ground coriander
•1/2 tsp ground turmeric
• 1 ½ cups finely chopped mushrooms
•400g red kidney beans
•2 tbsp. chopped fresh coriander wholemeal flour
•Salt and ground black pepper

Kitchen tip
These burgers are not quite as firm as meat burgers and will need careful handling on the barbecue unless you use a wire rack.

Kitchen safety

Under cooked beans may seem fairly innocent. However, they can cause food poisoning if you’re not careful leading to a broad range of digestive symptoms.

Method
Heat the olive oil in a frying pan and fry the chopped onion and garlic over  moderate heat, stirring until softened. Add spices and cook for one minute further, stirring continuously.

Add the chopped mushrooms and cook until softened and the mixture has become dry. Remove the pan from the heat and empty the contents into a large bowl.
Drain the beans thoroughly, place them in a bowl and mash with a fork. Stir the kidney beans into the frying pan with the chopped fresh coriander and mix thoroughly.

Using floured hands, form the mixture into four flat burger shapes. If the mixture is too sticky to handle, mix in a little wholemeal flour.
Lightly brush the burgers with olive oil and cook on a hot barbecue for eight to 10 minutes, turning once, until golden brown.

Serve sandwiched between a buttered burger bun that has being browned lightly on a hot pan or broiler. A spoonful of yoghurt would be a plus while slices of cheese would be magic to cheese lovers.