Mark Bittman's Bean Burgers

This week, Mark Bittman is serving as a Guest Editor at Food52. He'll be choosing a Wildcard winner, answering your questions on the Hotline, and sharing recipes from his new Cooking Basics app.

These bean burgers are amazing -- so good you'll want to double the recipe and freeze some. Canned beans work well here, since their super-soft texture and mild flavor make them very amenable to other seasonings.

Letting the bean mixture and the patties rest for a few minutes helps keep the burgers from falling apart. If you have time, you can put the patties in a container with a tight-fitting lid and refrigerate them for an hour (or up to a day), or freeze for up to a month; let them return to room temperature before cooking.

Bean Burgers

Makes 8 burgers

2 cups cooked (or drained canned) white, black, or red beans, or chickpeas, or cooked lentils
1 medium onion, cut into chunks
1/2 cup rolled oats, or more as needed
1 tablespoon chili powder
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Bean cooking liquid or water as needed
2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more as needed

See the full recipe (and save and print it) here.

Photo by Romulo Yanes

Want tips on ingredients and recipes? The master of basic cooking will be answering questions in a Twitter chat today from 3-4 PM. Bring your questions -- and your appetites.