Mark Bittman's Vegetarian Bean Burgers

If you are a novice cook and you haven't read Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything & How to Cook Everything Vegetarian, you should, ASAP. I picked up these books probably about 6 years ago and read them cover to cover. One of the first recipes I attempted to make was his version of a very simple bean burger. They are hearty and tasty, and perfect for entertaining vegetarian quests in the summer BBQ season. You can garnish this burger with the usual fixings, but I went a little more green by topping mine with my current food obsession, pea shoots...YUM!

Ingredients:

1 14-ounce can beans, drained (black, garbanzo, white, lentils) we made two kinds: 1w/ garbanzo
&1/w baked beans

1 small onion, quartered

1/2 cup rolled oats (preferably not instant)

1 tablespoon chili powder or spice mix of your choice

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 egg
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

How To:

-Combine the beans, onion, parmesan cheese, oats, chili powder, salt, pepper, and egg in a food processor and pulse until chunky but not puréed, adding a little liquid if necessary
-With wet hands, shape into whatever size patties you want (You can make the burger mixture or even shape the burgers up to a day or so in advance-just cover tightly and refrigerate)
-Bring everything back to room temperature before cooking
-Film the bottom of a large nonstick or well-seasoned cast-iron skillet with oil and turn the heat to medium
-Cook until nicely browned on one side, about 5 minutes; turn carefully and cook on the other side until firm and browned
-You can refrigerate or freeze any extras for later use