BLACK BEAN BURGERS WITH QUICK KETCHUP AND GHERKIN ‘FINGERS’

Prep time: 30 minutes, plus chilling time Cook time: 1 hour

Makes 4

Gently spiced and bound by onions, grated carrots and oats, these are incredibly easy to make. Ancho chilli is not especially hot – it has a deep, sweet heat, almost date-like in taste that works beautifully with tomatoes in this quick ketchup. The gnarled gherkin ‘fingers’ are my daughter Ivy’s idea.

INGREDIENTS For the ketchup

– 1 garlic clove, finely

chopped

– 1 tbsp olive oil

– 1-2 tbsp ancho chilli paste, or more, according to taste

– 3 medium-sized

tomatoes, diced small – 1 bay leaf, scrunched

a little

– 1 tsp soft light-brown

sugar

– 2 tbsp white wine or

cider vinegar

For the burgers

– 1 onion, finely diced

– 2 tbsp olive oil, plus

more for frying

– 1 x 400g tin black beans, drained and rinsed

– 2 large carrots, peeled and grated (about 250g prepared weight) – 80g rolled oats, plus a couple of tbsp to coat (or use breadcrumbs) – 1 tsp ground cumin

– 1 tsp ground coriander – 1 tbsp soy sauce

– 6-8 ‘finger-sized’ gherkins, sliced into 4 lengthways

– 2 tbsp flaked almonds,

ideally ‘nail-shaped’ – 4-8 thin slices cheddar, Comté or Gruyere (optional)

– 4 burger buns

– lettuce leaves, to serve

For the sweet potato fries

– 2 large sweet potatoes, cut into skinny chips, skin on is fine

– 2 tbsp olive oil

– big pinch of smoked

paprika

METHOD

First make the quick ketchup; fry the garlic in the olive oil in a pan over a moderate heat for around 30 seconds to 1 minute, until fragrant. Add the rest of the ketchup ingredients along with a big pinch of salt and 100ml water. Cook for around 20 minutes, or until the tomatoes have broken down and the sauce is thick and rich. Remove the bay leaf and blend until smooth, then put to one side to cool.

For the burgers, cook the onion in a pan over a moderate heat in the oil until translucent, around 8 minutes, then add the beans, mixing well to coat for a minute or two. Remove from the heat and mash or blend to a coarse purée.

Put the bean mixture in a bowl and add the grated carrot, oats, spices and soy sauce, seasoning to taste. Mix well until easy to shape.

Preheat the oven to 190C/170C fan/gas mark 5. Shape the mixture into four burgers about 2cm thick and place on a tray or plate sprinkled with oats; turn to coat. Put in the fridge to firm up for an hour or so.

Toss the chips in oil and a big pinch of salt, evenly distribute on a baking tray and roast in the oven for 20-25 minutes, until nicely coloured. Remove from the oven and dust with the smoked paprika and a pinch more salt.

Meanwhile, add a almond ‘fingernail’ to each slice of gherkin.

Heat a large non-stick frying pan with enough oil to just cover the surface and fry the burgers over a moderate heat for around 3 minutes on each side, until crisp. Add the cheese (if using) to the hot burger, allowing its heat to melt the cheese a little before you begin building the burger.

Assemble in the burger buns, adding lettuce, ketchup and gherkins (allowing them to poke out), and serve with the fries and more ketchup.