Black Bean Chipotle Burgers

Total Time: 1 hr 10 mins Preparation Time: 10 mins Cook Time: 1 hr

Ingredients

• 2 (15 ounce) cans black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 (14 ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
• 2 cups fritos corn chips, finely crushed (about 1 cup crushed)
• 1 cup cooked brown rice
• 1/2 cup finely chopped red onion
• 1/2 cup bottled chunky salsa
• 2 -3 teaspoons finely chopped canned chipotle chiles in adobo
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 8 tostadas, heated according to package directions (optional)
• bottled chunky salsa (optional)
• finely shredded green cabbage (optional)
• fresh cilantro leaves (optional)
• crumbled queso fresco (optional)
• avocado, slices (optional)

Recipe

• 1 in a large bowl mash half the beans with a potato masher or pastry blender until well mashed. add remaining beans, corn, corn chips, rice, onion, the 1/2 cup salsa, the chipotle peppers, cumin, and garlic.
• 2 shape mixture into eight 4-inch patties, about 3/4-inch thick. place patties on a tray; cover and chill at least 1 hour before grilling.
• 3 brush both sides of patties with olive oil; place patties on a grill pan. for a charcoal grill, place grill pan on the grill rack directly over medium coals for 8 to 10 minutes or until browned, turning once. (for a gas grill, preheat grill. reduce heat to medium. add patties on grill pan to grill rack, cover and grill as above.).
• 4 serve burgers on tostada shells. top with additional salsa, cabbage, cilantro, cheese, and avocado. makes 8 servings.
• 5 tip: patties can be prepared as above through step 2 and frozen for 3 to 4 hours until firm. place patties in an airtight freezer container and freeze up to 1 month. to serve, brush frozen patties with oil and grill as above for 8 to 10 minutes or until browned, turning once.