Black Bean Burger with Couscous

The homemade version

Their version. Photo: Con Poulos; Food Styling by Maggie Ruggero;
Prop Styling by Erin Swift

On the plus side, they finally decided to celebrate "Meatless Monday." If I'm going to go meatless, it needs to be alliterative. I would prefer if meatless meant grilled cheese and tomato soup, but beggars can't be choosers. On the negative side, more couscous. I remember not enjoying couscous at all the last time we had it. In fact, we disliked it so much we fed it to the chickens. I'm hoping this will be better, but my one experience with a veggie burger did not go well. It kind of looks tasty, but a bit boring. We will see how this goes. My in-laws are coming to visit, I wonder if they will be staying for supper or not? Only time will tell (my guess is my father-in-law will decline).

Black Bean Burger with Couscous

Woman's Day Magazine, December 2014

Active time: 25 minutes        Total time: 25 minutes        Level: Moderate
Serves: 4         Cost per serving: $1.14
Ingredients:

• 1 c. couscous
• 3 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 medium red onion
• 2 clove garlic
• 1 tsp fresh thyme
• 1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• Kosher salt 
• Pepper
• 2 medium carrots
• 1 can vegetarian refried beans
• 4 english muffins
• lettuce
• sliced avocado
• red onion
• tomato

This is one time I should have read the recipe before going to the store. The handy-dandy shopping list on the Woman's Day app (usually super convenient!) told me to buy a can of black beans. The actual recipe says a can of refried beans. Luckily, I have a can of refried beans in the cupboard. They're traditional, which means my version isn't actually vegetarian, but since we're omnivores around here it's not a big deal. My husband thinks I should just skip this meal, but that's not really the point of this experiment is it? The goal is to try new things and follow each day, regardless of the meal. I mean, obviously I've skipped days before (because we had something planned), and sometimes I have an issue come up that involves switching days, but I can't just skip it because it sounds terrible. Maybe we will be surprised! Lila does love refried beans.

Directions:

1. Place couscous in a medium bowl. Add 1 1/4 c. hot tap water, cover and let sit for 15 minutes; fluff with fork.
2. Meanwhile, heat 1 Tbsp oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add all the 1/4 c. onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, 4-5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and thyme, sprinkle with 1 tsp cumin and 1/2 tsp each salt and pepper and cook, stirring, 1 minute.
3. Add 1/2 the carrots (about 1 c.) and cook, stirring occasionally, for 2 minutes more, remove from heat and transfer to a large bowl. Fold in refried beans and 1/2 c. prepared couscous.
4. With wet hands, form mix into 4 3/4" thick patties. Heat 1 Tbsp oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Cook the patties until browned and heated through, about 3 minutes per side.
5. Fold remaining carrots, onion, Tablespoon oil, and 1/2 tsp cumin into couscous along with 1/4 tsp each salt and pepper. Serve the burgers on English muffins and top with lettuce, avocado, onions and tomato, as desired. Serve with couscous.

OK, so that happened. My first issue arose with the cooking of the couscous, I followed the directions on the recipe and ended up with wet, crunchy couscous. I then put it in a pan and simmered until cooked through and water was gone. If you want to make this, just follow the directions on the bag. 

This is what the patty mixture looked like

The next problem I had was the forming of the patties: it was warm and gooey and actually felt like a pile of poo (I'm a nurse, I know what I'm talking about). It also looked like poo and (surprise surprise) tasted terrible. As my husband said, it could be good if you used it in something, like tacos or burritos, but on its own it was not our favorite. I personally just didn't like the carrots and couscous, it probably would have been OK if it had just bean beans and onion. Still not my favorite, but probably better. We all had a couple of bites then when to The Still for burgers. Real meat is always better than fake meat, at least in this family.

Tips: Follow the instructions on the couscous, not the recipe. Make sure everything is chopped before you start cooking. Sometimes, you can chop as you go, this recipe you're better off having everything prepped before you start. If you don't like couscous, this will not make you a fan.

Verdict? Taste of Day FAIL!