Savory White Bean Burger (gluten-free)

Directions

1. White Bean Burger
2. Put the oats in a food processor and pulse three to four times to roughly chop. Add half of the beans and pulse 6-8 times until a coarse paste forms. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl then add the egg, Italian seasoning, and 1/2 tsp. salt. Process about 1 minute, mixture will be thick like paste. Transfer the puree into a bowl and fold in the remaining beans, cheese, scallion and basil.
3. Lightly oil a plate and with wet hands, form the mixture into 4, 1/4 inch-thick patties. Place the patties on the oiled plate and refrigerate for 10-15 minutes until the burgers set.
4. Heat a large cast iron skillet over high heat until very hot. Spread a little Smart Balance on the gluten-free buns and toast them in your skillet while it is coming up to temp for the patties. When toasted remove the buns and add the oil swirling to coat the entire bottom of the pan. Remove patties from refrigerator, reshape if necessary and transfer to the hot skillet, you want to hear a loud sizzle when the burger hits the oil. Cook the burgers until they are browned and have formed a nice crust about 2-3 minutes. Carefully flip the burgers and continue cooking for another 3-5 minutes until the burgers feel firm to the touch.
5. There is no right or wrong way to top these burgers but, here is how I top mine… I slice tomatoes and Serrano peppers and place in a bowl with a little salt. I let this sit while I am making the patties so that the juices from the tomatoes and peppers can mix and get really happy. When I am almost ready to build the burgers I add baby spinach and fresh basil leaves to the bowl and toss them with the tomatoes and peppers. The juice from the veggies makes a yummy dressing for the greens. Then I stack…bun, burger, greens & veggies, a slice of creamy avocado a slathering of cumin cashew cream and I top it all off with the yummy toasted bun.

1. Cumin Cashew Cream
2. Combine all ingredients in a blender and process until smooth. I always start out using less water and then gradually add more to reach my desired consistency. Here I wanted my cashew cream to be as creamy and smooth as mayonnaise would be.