Hominy-Pinto Burgers with Roasted Green Chiles

I have a lot of blog recipes to catch up on, so I think I will just get down to the "nitty gritty" by posting meals that we recently tried and liked. These vegetarian burgers were a hit with the adults, but not so much for the kids in my family. All in all, we liked them...the kids will just have to deal with it!

Hominy-Pinto Burgers with Roasted Green Chiles
From: Lorrie Hulston Corvin, Cooking Light August 2006

Ingredients:
2 poblano chiles (I used my roasted Hatch chiles)
Cooking spray
1 cup chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 (15.5-ounce) can pinto beans, rinsed and drained
1 (15-ounce) can hominy, rinsed and drained
3/4 cup masa harina, divided
1 tablespoon canola oil
3/4 cup (3 ounces) shredded Monterey Jack cheese with jalapeño peppers
2 tablespoons reduced-fat sour cream
2 tablespoons low-sodium salsa
4 (1 1/2-ounce) whole wheat hamburger buns, toasted

Directions:
Preheat broiler. Place chiles on a foil-lined baking sheet; broil 3 inches from heat 8 minutes or until blackened and charred, turning after 6 minutes. Place in a heavy-duty plastic bag; seal. Let stand 15 minutes. Peel and discard skins. Cut each chile lengthwise into 4 strips; discard seeds.

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add onion and garlic; sauté 5 minutes. Place onion mixture, salt, beans, and hominy in a food processor; pulse until coarsely ground. Combine bean mixture and 1/2 cup masa in a medium bowl. Divide bean mixture into 4 equal portions, shaping each into a 1/2-inch-thick patty. Place remaining 1/4 cup masa in a shallow dish; dredge patties in masa.

Heat oil in skillet over medium heat. Add patties to pan; cook 4 minutes. Turn patties over. Top each patty with 3 tablespoons cheese; cook 4 minutes.

Combine sour cream and salsa in a small bowl. Spread 1 tablespoon sour cream mixture on top half of each bun. Place patties on bottom halves of buns; top each serving with 2 pepper strips. Cover with tops of buns.



The Result:
Easy and good. I used some roasted hatch green chiles, so ours were spicy. (I omitted the chiles for my little rugrats.) Baked sweet potato fries were a quick and yummy side dish that went well with these burgers. This was a solid recipe for vegetarian bean burgers with an interesting twist.