Well, I simply adore flageolet beans – I use them frequently, and I purchase the tinned ones for convenience. This time I thought, “I shall burger you for tonight”, and that’s what I did. Not only that, but I also felt like making something a little different with them. So I added some desiccated coconut, herbs and spices and, just to give it that extra twist, some zest. The result . . . find out for yourself, as, so far, I haven’t found the words to express the flavour of these magical burgers. Easy to make and highly nutritious, you’re going to like these !
Makes 4 Burgers
INGREDIENTS
- 2 slices dry wholemeal bread
- 1 large onion, coarsely chopped
- ½ red chilli, chopped
- 3 garlic cloves
- 1 tin (400 grams) of flageolet beans (if tinned, first drain & wash)
- 1 tsp curry powder
- 2 tbsp unbleached flour
- 1 tsp nutritional yeast
- salt to taste
- the zest of a lemon
- 1 tbsp fresh oregano (or 1 tsp dried oregano)
- 1 tbsp fresh mint or 1 tsp dried mint
- 1 tsp coriander seeds
- ½ tsp turmeric
- ½ tsp ground cardamon
- 2 tbsp desiccated coconut
- 1 tsp cumin powder
- extra flour and desiccated coconut for coating/dusting
METHOD
Place the onion, garlic and chilli in a food processor, and process for a couple of minutes, until totally smooth. Then and the herbs and spices, and continue to process. Add the remaining ingredients, and continue to process for another minute (don’t overdo it, you don’t want a dip – just a very thick mixture).
Next step, take the mixture out and shape into a ball, then slightly flatten the top in the palm of your hands, and place onto a plate on which you have already spread a thin layer of flour and desiccated coconut, to coat the burger. Then turn it over to coat the other side. Place them onto a floured plate, and refrigerate for at least an hour (the longer the better).
Add a little olive or canola oil in a non stick frying pan, and fry your burgers on a medium to low heat for just over 5 minutes on each side. When they are nice and golden, turn again for a final few seconds, and then serve immediately on toasted burger rolls of your own choice – needless to say, include whatever filling you wish.
As the burger is quite filling in itself, and if you have no accompaniments in mind, then I find it a good idea is to fill the burger with yummy and nutritious ingredients. Make sure you prepare them prior to frying your burger, so that all can be eaten warm and fresh. I included one layer of vegan mayo, followed by a thin slice of beet, raw sliced red onions, and vegan cheese. I added the cheese after frying the burger (and prior to putting it in the roll), by applying a few slices and putting it under the grill for the cheese to melt, then quickly popping it into the bun, followed by a layer of yummy, sliced gherkins, tomatoes, optional fried sliced mushrooms, and fresh iceberg lettuce. Then on the other side of the toasted bun I spread some mustard (I simply love mustard with burgers, but again, it’s optional).
I must admit, that biting into this ‘monster from paradise’ was quite a challenge !
All recipes, content & design © Miriam Sorrell www.mouthwateringvegan.com 2010
These are free recipes for your pleasure – all we ask in return is that you take a few moments to leave us a constructive comment !
Definitely reminded me of my recent holiday to the Caribbean!! So exotically tangy… I made myself a mango and peach juice drink and put on my sunnies!!
Glad you enjoyed it, sounds like you’re having lots of fun – that sure is what THIS burger is all about. Enjoy !
As soon as i saw the picture of the delicious looking “Spicy Bean & Coconut Burgers from Paradise” my mouth started to water by itself it just looks so delicious!!! It makes me want to go and make one now!!!
its an amazing recipe i have to say!
Thanks very much for your compliments Martina. I hope you enjoy them, and have a great day !!
I’ve recently tried this recipe for vegetarian guests. They loved it! I did have some problems with the canned Cannellini beans since I couldn’t find flageolet beans. The mixture was too mushy especially when I added the lemon juice! Perhaps I shouldn’t have blended the onions and garlic so ‘smoothly’?? I had to add more flour, an egg white and referigerate for 3 hours! I thought it would be a disaster but they loved the taste especially the coconut flavour! So thanks!
Hi Pam, glad your guests enjoyed this. The consistency between the flagolet beans and the cannellini beans is really much for much, so I don’t think your slight problem arose from that aspect. I am suspecting that it could have been a little over processing – next time I am going to advise 2 things. First when you add the beans don’t process for a minute just 15 seonds, second in the beginning of the recipe in the ingredients I suggest placing 2 slices of dried (not stale) wholemeal bread to add more bulk to it (place them in the processor to start with), that way there will be no need for you to add anyting else. That should do the trick. It’s also possible that many processors differ in their power and speed). Hope that this tip helps.
Methinks your suggestions should do the trick nicely! Ah! so many wonderful things to enjoy with friends, thanks to your tasty muse 🙂
Thank you Pam !!! Now, I’m going to post some magic muffins later !
Hi there Dominic Wayt right here, that was in fact odd. I just written an incredibly long comment on http://www.mouthwateringvegan.com/2010/11/26/spicy-bean-coconut-burgers-from-paradise but after I clicked send the opinion don’t display. Sigh… well Now I am not writing all that written text once more. Anyway, I would like to imply good blogging site!
Dominic Hi there, welcome to my site. So sorry you lost your comment – it is terribly frustrating when that happens and it happens to so many people, including myself from time to time. I hope you enjoyed this burger and look forward to any future comments you may have. In order not to loose comments or information these days what I do is to type it in a document, then copy and paste it – that way if it gets lost for some unknown reason, you have not lost your valuable time and you can re-copy it and paste it, hopefully with better luck next time – it’s a fool proof system and although it takes a few seconds more – it’s worth while. Cheers to you !
Thanks Miri
The best burgers i had all day. I used baked beans, the only beans i had in the pantry, they worked well. 😉
Hi there Ant and thanks for your comment, in fact this recipe can be made with most beans – most white small beans such as the cannellini beans will work very well with this recipe. Glad you enjoyed it ! Cheers to you !.
This looks absolutely delicious!!!! I’ve never had a bean burger, but it is something I might like to try. Besides, these recipes are amazing, so I wouldn’t doubt this one is too ♥ Made your day?
Krista Hi there and thanks for your wonderful comment – people like you always make my day. Cheers !.
Hi Miriam, I felt compelled to write to you and say how much I enjoyed your bean and coconut burgers! I’ve tried quite a few vegie burgers this past year or so..some did not appeal to my taste buds at all, some were just so-so and the rest were quite nice but would not bother to make again. But these bean and coconut burgers were divine! I love the mix of herbs, curry powder and coconut with beans (I used cannellini beans) and the aroma of burgers frying and wafting through the house was delightful. Thank you for this recipe! I’ll be making these often!
Thank you so much for your beautiful recipes. They are exactly what is needed to encourage people who would try vegan food to do so.
Hi Carol, many thanks for your wonderful comment – that’s the idea dear Carole, and so far, so good ! Hope you are enjoying my recipes – I do look forward to your future comments on my site. Cheers to you !.
Jill Hi and many thanks for your wonderfully detailed comment – I am thrilled to hear how much you have enjoyed these burgers, aroma and all ! Glad they will be a regular in your household and very much look forward to your future comments on my blog – cheers to you !.
This looks yummy! Just wondering what brand of vegan cheese was used?
Hi Wendy, this was made a while back and I think I may have concocted a bunch of Tofutti mozzarella which I melted and coloured with a tiny bit of turmeric (thickened with a little cornflower) as I wanted to get a thicker texture and a slight yellow colour. You can probably use Daiya cheese for this, I believe they have quite a selection. We don’t have it here in Europe, we have tofutti and Redwoods.
looks delicious. what cheese did you use? still not found any yummy vegan cheese yet so tend to go without :/
Hi there Elaine, the answer to your question is the same answer as Wendy Walsh’s above. I think in the UK you also have a brand called Sheese http://www.buteisland.com/ one of my FB friends said it tasted better than the other vegan brands there. Cheers.
This recipe looks fantastic, and I would love to try it but what exactly is nutritional yeast? I’m not sure I can get it here in Austria. It seems to be an important ingredient, because I see it in a lot of vegan recipes, what exactly does it do? Do you use it a lot?
I’m trying to start on this new adventure 🙂
btw – great website!
Hi there Fab and welcome here. Thanks for dropping by here with your comment. Firstly here are 2 links for you to see what the Nutritional Flakes are, where you can purchase them from etc – click the links to see.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Marigold-Engevita-Nutritional-Yeast-Flakes/dp/B002E2LPLK
http://www.goodnessdirect.co.uk/cgi-local/frameset/detail/579698_Marigold_Engevita_Nutritional_Yeast_Flakes__125g.html
Lastly, here is another burger, you may wish to try this one first as it will be easier to make and I think more fit and palatable for a 1st time vegan burger and loved by all who try it – here is the link to my recipe for it http://www.mouthwateringvegan.com/2012/05/19/mushroom-walnut-spicy-quinoa-burger-with-a-smoky-pineapple-salsa/
Nutritional Yeast is a very valued ingredient in most good vegan kitchens, as it takes the place of cheese flavour and adds depth to many vegan dishes – it lasts quite a while too – you can order a couple online if you wish, you won’t regret it, and yes, I use it reasonably often in many dishes. Best to you in the meantime, and I look forward to your future comments on my blog. Cheers !
I can’t find flageolet beans, what is a good substitute for them that is more readily available?
Lori Hi there and welcome here. You may use kidney beans if you wish – this burger tastes great, but the consistency is a little on the soft side – if you wish to have a more dense texture then this burger is what I would recommend – it’s my latest one http://www.mouthwateringvegan.com/2012/05/19/mushroom-walnut-spicy-quinoa-burger-with-a-smoky-pineapple-salsa/ either way hope you enjoy it/them and all my recipes here. I look forward to your future comments and feedback. Best to you in the meantime !
Hi Miriam I stumbled on this recipe when reading the interview you gave on the Malta Independent. Well spoken. Congrats.
I’ll try this recipe (I love burgers)very soon. Lastly if I cram all that stuff in the pix how on earth am I going to bite it??? 🙁
Joe Hi there, this burger is an old recipe of mine – if you have not made a vegan burger before allow me to introduce you to a far better tasting one than this one, even if I say so myself. Why ? Because the burger here that you have chosen has a very soft texture and the taste and texture of the one I am suggesting on this link is by far better, so please consider making it instead http://www.mouthwateringvegan.com/2012/05/19/mushroom-walnut-spicy-quinoa-burger-with-a-smoky-pineapple-salsa/ – Just a thought of what would be more suitable given the circumstances. Kind wishes your way ! P.S. And a kinder one to bite into too. 🙂
Very kind as usual Miriam. Ok Ill make this one instead.
Let me know how it goes as and when Joe.
Hi there!
We’re a spanish animal sanctuary and we wanted to thank you for sharing your recipes with all of us. They’re so delicious and original!
We really love your blog and all the great ideas you’re sharing with us, you’re helping us so much! We wanted to tell you that we’ve just posted your recipe on our facebook website, https://www.facebook.com/School.Sanctuary.EHL
And we wanted to invite you to chek it out!
Thanks once again!
EL Hogar (international department)
Love your page Natalia – thanks for sharing. Feel free to share my vegan egg recipes any time too, or any others you wish to. 🙂
hello! that cheese looks awesome! i was flipping through your book, is there a chance the cheddar would grate like that? if not, what other recipe could i use to achieve that effect?
thank you!
Hi there Luke, the cheddar would grate like that but you will need to more than double the amount of agar powder in the recipe. Good luck and enjoy !
Hello! Should we use the sweetened or unsweetened dessicated coconut? Thank you!
Unsweetened ! This is one of the 1st burgers on my blog from a while back, so it is not a dense burger but a soft one – do see my others which are better in texture ! 🙂
hello a newbie here i thought that i couldn’t have alot of the things i grew up eating how wrong was i lol i’ve never had any thing like this buger loved it my mom couldnt believe that it didnt have any animal products
Faduma Hi there and welcome here. You should try my other burgers, they are much better than this one in both taste and texture, as this is one of the first recipes on my blog. Since then the burgers I have posted up are fantastic, and I hope you enjoy many of the other recipes on my blog. Cheers ! 🙂