Spicy Southwest Vegetable Burger with Avocado and Pepper-jack Cheese

Pairs well with:

Sauvignon Blanc

With hints of passion fruit, melon, and citrus, this wine beckons you to kick back and find a perfect porch swing.

Ingredients

2/3 cup red onion
2/3 cup red pepper
1 1/3 cups white button mushrooms
1 cup canned black beans, drained not rinsed
1 1/2 tsp. Minced garlic
2/3 cup fresh cilantro
1 1/4 tsp chili powder
1 3/4 tsp. garlic salt
1 cup yellow corn mea
l 1/2 cup olive oil
1 ripe avocado
6 slices pepper-jack cheese
6 whole wheat bakery style buns
Leaf lettuce
1/2 cup fire roasted tomato salsa with jalapeno

 

Instructions

Equipment needed: standard food processor, measuring teaspoon, tablespoon & cup, small cutting board & knife, medium mixing bowl and rubber spatula/spoon, 2 small cups for oil and avocado, fork, grill brush and grill spatula. This recipe is cooked on a three-burner gas grill heated to 375 degrees. Total time involved is less than one hour. Preparation: (aprox. 20 min.) Begin burger patties by chopping red onion and red pepper into about one inch cubes, place both into food processor and pulse about five times. Remove stems from brushed mushrooms, discard stems, cut mushrooms into quarters, add to pepper & onion mixture in food processor, drain black beans & add to food processor, add minced garlic, slightly chopped cilantro, mix briefly with spatula to blend in new ingredients & pulse food processor about five times. Add Chili powder and garlic salt, pulse again about three times. Vegetables should be well mixed with the majority well ground but chunks of some veggies and cilantro flakes visible. Pour mixture into the medium mixing bowl, blending in the corn meal 1/3 cup at a time, mixing lightly after each addition – blending well without over mixing! Grilling: Brush heated grill with olive oil. Scoop about 1/6 of vegetable mixture for each burger, forming the patty in hand and gently placing on grill. Cook 12 minutes, brushing top of uncooked side slightly with the oil before flipping over. Cook an additional 8 minutes. Burgers should be mildly firm, moist and have grill marks. Assembly: While burgers are cooking, cut, pit and peel avocado, mash and set aside. Remove burgers from grill place on platter, top with pepper-jack cheese, set aside. Open buns, place open-side down on grill, toast lightly about 2 minutes. Remove from grill, top bottom bun first with a heaping tablespoon avocado, next burger patty topped with cheese, then leaf lettuce. Put a generous tablespoon salsa on top half of bun, finally placing on top of burger.