Cheese-Stuffed Spicy Bean Burgers

Back again with another recipe for March’s MiniMoFo – this time a savoury recipe!

Burgers! While technically I guess a burger is a patty stuffed into a bun, this isn’t actually what the “stuffed” element of this post refers to. These burgers are cheese stuffed!

Vegan cheese, of course. I use Sainsbury’s Caramelised Onion Cheese – also known as Gary – which I like because it’s kinda like having caramelised onions inside your burger and how cool is that? But you could use any vegan cheese you like, that comes in block form, since you’ll need to cut it into little blocks to stuff your burgers with.

The burgers are fairly simple bean burgers, based off my Spicy Bean Burgers from years ago, and can be adapted to suit your own spice level (just add more or less chilli!). In the burgers in the photos, I used black beans, but kidney beans also work really well in this recipe too.

To make the burgers, simply split the mixture into eight pieces (in half, then half again, then half again!). Take one piece and make it into a round disc in your hand (see picture above). Place a piece of cheese in the middle of the disc.

With another piece of mixture, create another disc, just like the first one, and put it on top of the first one with the cheese. Push down the edges to seal it all in. Then you’re done – you can fry the burgers now!

 

• Servings: 4 burgers
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Ingredients

• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 large chilli, chopped (use more or less, to your taste)
• 2 medium carrots, grated
• 1 tsp cumin
• 2 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 can black or kidney beans, drained
• 2 tbsp tomato puree
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 40g oats
• 100g breadcrumbs
• Vegan cheese, cut into four 2cm x 1cm rectangles
• Oil for frying
• Fixings for your burger – cobs, salad, mayo…

Directions

1. Begin by heating oil in a large frying pan, and frying the onion, chilli, and garlic for 5 minutes, until translucent.
2. Add in the grated carrot, cumin, paprika, and salt and pepper for seasoning, and fry five more minutes, until the carrot is soft.
3. Meanwhile, in a bowl, mash the beans until no whole beans are left.
4. Stir in the tomato puree, soy sauce, and oats.
5. Once the onion and carrot mixture is done, add it to the bowl with the beans, and mix.
6. Stir through the breadcrumbs to form a mixture that should hold together when you press it.
7. Split the mixture into 8 pieces. (For photos, see above)
8. Take a piece of the mixture, and form it into a round disc. Place a piece of cheese in the middle of the disc.
9. Take another piece of the mixture, also form it into a disc. Place it on top of the first piece, and press down the edges to seal the cheese inside.
10. Repeat until you have 4 patties stuffed with cheese.
11. Heat oil in your frying pan over a medium heat. Once hot, add the burgers.
12. Fry for roughly 5 minutes on each side, until crispy and golden.
13. Serve in cobs with salad!

 

Bourbon Biscuit Brownies

These brownies are both biscuit and brownie. Not in the way that my brookies were a cross between a brownie and a cookie, but in the way that they’re brownies, stuffed full of biscuits! This recipe fits right in with March’s MiniMoFo challenge of “stuffed and filled foods” (indeed, bourbons are a filled biscuit, which in this case are then stuffed inside brownies!), and also has some cool alliteration in the recipe title.

Have you ever had a Bourbon Biscuit? If you’re not British, then maybe not. Bourbon biscuits are a rectangular cocoa biscuit with a chocolatey filling. If you’re American, the closest you can get would be a chocolate cream filled oreo, they’re different, but they’d work the same in this recipe. Bourbons do not actually have anything to do with the drink, bourbon, and are quite non-alcoholic, being a favourite to dunk into a cup of tea. Many supermarket versions are vegan, just check the packet before you buy!

These brownies use bourbon biscuits much like other brownies use chocolate chips. The biscuits get chopped up (surprisingly easy to do) and stirred into the batter, with a few placed on top before baking. They’re super chocolatey and great for fans of the popular biscuit!

• Servings: 20 brownies
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Ingredients

• 200g bourbon biscuits, chopped into roughly 1cm pieces (with a few reserved to top the brownies)
• 100g vegan butter
• 50g dark chocolate
• 225g sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 50g cocoa
• pinch salt
• 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 175ml milk of choice
• 300g plain flour

Directions

Preheat the oven to 170C/340F and line a baking dish
1. In a large bowl, melt together the butter and chocolate.
2. Add the sugar, vanilla, cocoa, salt, and bicarbonate of soda, and mix well.
3. Stir in the milk until well combined.
4. Add the flour and mix through.
5. Fold in the chopped bourbon biscuits until evenly distributed.
6. Pour the batter into your prepared tin, and top with the remaining biscuits.
7. Bake in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes, until a knife comes out clean.
8. Cool in the tin, then slice and eat!