Messy Jess C.: New Recipe: Chipotle Black Bean Burgers

Jesse and I have our most profound conversations during dinner.

The other night as we started making this delicious recipe for Chipotle Black Bean Burgers, we discussed car names, as in names people give to their cars and car genders.

I have a blue Honda. It's name is Blue and it's definitely a girl (my bike, which is also blue, is named Bonita Blue - so creative, I know). Growing up, my parents had an explorer named Rocky. One of my high school friends drove a car she named Tico Torres, not to be confused with Bon Jovi's drummer. Anyhow, you see my point.

Jesse owns a Jeep and while I was referring to Blue, he referred to "Green." I replied with "Green?" since this was the first time I ever heard that his car had a name. He said "well, it's Green." True, his car is the color green, but then I went on to say, it's a Jeep it should have a tough guy name. He replied that most guys probably give their cars girl names just like boats, etc. I suggested "A Boy Named Sue" as a compromise. He didn't seem amused.

The discussion ended there until this morning when I saw this Jeep with what I considered to be proof that Jeeps do in fact have boy names.

Jesse replied that "Big Ray" was probably the nickname of the driver. I said maybe, then amended my view that almost any name would probably be ok with a guy for his car as long as it had "Big" before it. Men.

Anyhow, it's amazing how much you can figure out over dinner, particularly while making these Chipotle Black Bean Burgers. Test out this recipe for yourself to see what worldly problems you can solve.

Here's what you'll need:

1-15oz can black beans, drained & rinsed
1/4 small red onion, roughly chopped
1 canned chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, plus 2-3 teaspoons adobo sauce
2 garlic cloves
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup corn kernels (canned, fresh, or thawed)
1/4 cup bottled chunky salsa, plus more for topping the burgers
3/4 cup panko bread crumbs
1 egg white
1 avocado
garlic powder
salt & pepper
4 buns, toasted

Once you have everything set out and prepped, combine half the black beans in a food processor with the red onion, chipotle pepper in adobo sauce plus extra sauce, garlic, cumin and salt. Pulse until nearly smooth, scraping the sides if needed.

Remove mixture to a bowl then add remaining black beans, corn, salsa, panko bread crumbs, and egg white, then mix well with a spatula. Mixture will be wet.

Heat a large flat-top skillet over medium heat then generously spray the skillet with non-stick spray. Shape the bean mixture into four patties.

Cook the patties for 5-6 minutes a side (make sure you wait the full 5-6 minutes. They may look cooked, but you want to make sure the egg is cooked fully and the patties are cooked all the way through), until firm and golden brown.

Meanwhile, mash the avocado with garlic powder, salt & pepper in a small bowl (as a side note, check out this tip from Apartment Therapy for picking out the perfect avocado). Place the cooked burgers on toasted buns, then top with the mashed avocado and extra salsa, if desired.