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- Makes 12 burgers
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Pancake-thick Salvadoran-style corn tortillas make a great alternative to traditional buns in this delicious plant-based burger recipe. Succulent patties—made with black beans, plantains, bell pepper, and a hearty dose of smoky spices—are sandwiched between the homemade tortillas and drizzled with a spicy pepita sauce. The refreshing cabbage slaw adds a satisfying crunch, and a squeeze of lemon juice ties it all together. Serve open-faced or stack another tortilla on top!
Ingredients
- 2 cups shredded green cabbage
- ½ cup shredded carrot
- ¼ cup white wine vinegar
- Sea salt, to taste
- 2 plantains (preferably green plantains), peeled and cut into ½-inch pieces (1¾ to 2 cups)
- 1¼ cups finely chopped onion
- 1 cup finely chopped green bell pepper
- 7 cloves garlic, minced
- 1½ teaspoons dried Mexican oregano, crushed
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 2 15-oz. cans black beans, rinsed and drained (3 cups)
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon ancho chile powder
- ¼ teaspoon guajillo chile powder
- 2 pinches freshly ground black pepper
- 1½ cups tomato sauce
- 2 tablespoons pepitas
- 1¾ cups masa harina
- Chopped fresh cilantro (optional)
- Lemon wedges (optional)
Instructions
- For slaw topping, in a medium bowl combine cabbage, carrot, vinegar, and a sprinkle of salt. Massage cabbage to coat well. Let stand at least 1 hour.
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a saucepan combine plantains, 1 cup onion, the bell pepper, 6 cloves garlic, 1 teaspoon oregano, the cumin, and ¼ cup water. Cook, covered, over medium 15 minutes or until plantains are tender and any liquid has cooked off, stirring occasionally and adding water, 1 to 2 tablespoons at a time, to prevent sticking.
- Add beans and lemon juice to pan; season with salt. Cook 3 minutes more. Cool mixture then mash well.
- Shape bean mixture into twelve 3-inch patties, using about ⅓ cup mixture per patty. Place on prepared baking sheet. Bake 30 to 45 minutes or until burgers are browned on top. Turn off oven; leave burgers in oven to keep warm.
- For Pepita Sauce, in a small saucepan combine the remaining ¼ cup onion, 1 clove garlic, and ½ teaspoon oregano. Add the ancho chile powder, guajillo chile powder, and black pepper. Cook over medium-low about 1 minute. Stir in tomato sauce; cook 2 minutes more. Cool 10 minutes. Transfer to a blender and add pepitas. Cover and blend until smooth. Set aside until ready to serve.
- Meanwhile, for tortillas, line a shallow bowl with a clean kitchen towel. Fill a small bowl with water. Place masa harina in a third bowl; add 1½ cups warm water and knead into a soft dough. Divide dough into 12 equal portions.
- Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium. Roll one dough portion into a ball. Pat the ball into a 3½- to 4-inch tortilla. Place tortilla in hot skillet and brush with water from the small bowl. Cook 5 minutes or until top and edges start to look dry and bottom is browned. Flip and cook 5 minutes more. Transfer to the towel-lined bowl; cover to keep warm. Repeat to make 12 tortillas.
- Place burgers on tortillas. Drizzle with Pepita Sauce and top with slaw. If desired, sprinkle with cilantro and serve with lemon wedges.
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Comments (2)
(5 from 5 votes)Very tasty, with a few of my own substitutions: 1) I added a sprinkle of habanero chili powder to the burgers, 2) used a store-bought (Costco) oil free fermented Latin American curtido with similar ingredients (plus red pepper flakes) that I already had in the fridge instead of the slaw topping, and 3) used blue corn organic Masa Harina that I already had in my pantry (Amazon). I don’t usually use this for thick tortillas and have precise metric weights for 2 regular tortillas (28g masa, 42 g hot water). They turned out a little small for thick tortillas not pressed in a tortilla press, so I may need to up these weights a bit next time.
This took a while for me to make (even with using store bought corn tortillas since I couldn't find masa harina), but it was worth it. The pepita sauce was perfect! A delicious combination of flavors and very filling.