The inspiration for this burger came from the Whole Foods recipe for their Southwestern Veggie Burger. These take some time to put together; I cook a big batch of pinto beans the day before in the crockpot while steaming the sweet potatoes and roasting the corn. I used prepared polenta (comes in a roll at the store), but you could whip up some fresh.
Even though they are labor-intensive, you will end up with a lot of really delicious vegan lunches prepared and in the freezer.
Note: You will often see veggie burgers served on a whole wheat bun. That seems kind of redundant to me, so I leave out the bun. Your choice.
2 cups pinto beans, cooked, drained, and mashed (reserve cooking liquid)
2 cooked sweet potatoes, cooled and mashed
2/3 cup roasted corn (use fresh or frozen and thawed kernels, slowly roast over low heat in an iron frying pan, stirring frequently)
1 cup of polenta, mashed and smooth
1 tbl. chili powder
1 tsp. cumin
3 tbl. nutritional yeast
1/4 cup of salsa
salt and pepper to taste
Optional:
Add some or all of the following, finely chopped: Bell peppers, onions, carrots, celery, kale, tomatoes
I have also added leftover cauliflower puree; use up whatever you have!
Mix all together, adding some of the reserved bean juice if the mixture needs to be more moist. You can add in a few shakes of bread crumbs to help hold things together, if necessary. When all is thoroughly mixed, form into patties (my batch made 12 patties). Place on parchment-covered cookie sheets.
Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes, turn over carefully, then continue baking for another 15 minutes. The goal is to get them crispy, so you may want to bake them longer.
Cool and freeze. Reheat in the microwave, or in a pan on the stove, or on a parchment lined cookie sheet in the oven at 300 for about 15 minutes.
