Black bean burgers (vegan)

My love for black beans, a staple in my kitchen, knows no boundaries and these black bean burgers are the ones that made me switch entirely to veggie burgers. I wouldn't say no to a good burger made with quality meat but when I crave a burger, I crave these. It's not only because of the taste; it also has something to do with the ingredients, the nutritious fresh produce on my table when preparing the meal.

I like having fresh coriander in my kitchen. I love its pungent flavour and as of late, I find myself increasing the amount I use in recipes. If I don't have it there is something seriously wrong in the world. Or in my kitchen only. Cilantro is another word for fresh coriander, used in the US from the Spanish word. Then there are some who call the leaves Arab parsley while others call them Chinese parsley. Confused much? Well, now you know.

We have developed a black-bean-burger ritual. Each time I make them, which is quite often, one of the toppings I prepare is fried mushrooms in light olive oil with garlic and a pinch of salt, which I also serve on the side.

Speaking of mushrooms, many years ago a friend of mine attended a lecture with a Buddhist monk who said no one should eat mushrooms because they didn't grow in sunny places, or something like that. Everyone is entitled to opinions and believes but let me just tell you this: No monk or philosophy was coming between me and my mushrooms and from then on the rebel inside made a solemn vow to eat even more of them. That's just how I roll.

I have actress Gwyneth Paltrow to thank for the recipe, which I adapted from her cookbook, Notes From My Kitchen Table. It is easy to prepare but what you will need is cooked brown rice, so make sure you have time to boil the rice (takes about 25 minutes) or do it beforehand. You will need 30 g uncooked brown rice to make 75 g cooked (for the Americans out there not used to grams, cook three tablespoons of rice).

I like my veggie burger fried but I have added an oven-baked choice for those who aren't fond of fried food. I doubled the ground cumin in the recipe and I use 2 tablespoons of fresh coriander. I also added the red chilli flakes and nutritional yeast flakes, which I mark as optional. I serve these with the mushrooms and garlic mentioned above, tomatoes, avocados, lettuce, and quality mayonnaise or home-made. The recipe contains onion so I don't feel the need to add raw onion or red onion to my burger, but when I'm craving something spicy I like adding jalapeno from a jar. Sometimes I enjoy these with a small glass of ice cold beer with freshly squeezed lime.

BLACK BEAN BURGERS

1½-2 tablespoons light olive oil
1 small onion
2 cloves garlic
½ teaspoon ground cumin
optional: a pinch of red chilli flakes
½ teaspoon fine sea/Himalayan salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 can (400g) organic black beans (14 oz)
75 g cooked brown rice
1-2 tablespoons fresh coriander (cilantro)
optional: 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast flakes
1-2 tablespoons organic flour (if frying)
2-3 tablespoons vegetable oil (if frying)
4 wholemeal burger buns

Cook 30 g brown rice beforehand. Drain and rinse the black beans. Set aside.

Peel the onion and garlic and chop finely. Heat the olive oil in a medium frying pan, then sauté the onion, garlic, cumin and chilli flakes (if using) for about 5-7 minutes on low-medium heat.

Add the salt, pepper, black beans and rice and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes.

Finely chop the fresh coriander and add it to the mixture with the nutritional yeast flakes (if using). Remove from the heat.

Mash the mixture with a potato masher just to combine and get some cohesion - you want the burgers to have some texture. Let the mixture cool until it's easy to handle. Form the mixture into 4 burgers (at this point you can set the burgers in the fridge for a few hours).

• Fried burgers: Dust both sides with flour. Heat the vegetable oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat and brown the burgers on both sides, about a minute on each side. Serve them on grilled wholemeal buns with all of your favourite fixings.

• Oven-baked burgers: Place the burgers on a baking tray lined with baking parchment. Bake at 190°C/375°F (175°C fan oven) for 8-10 minutes on each side.

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Recipe adapted from the book Notes From My Kitchen Table by Gwyneth Paltrow

Maps | Marinated chicken drumsticks

By now I thought I would be able to share photos of gorgeous spring blossoms but this year spring is arriving with slight hiccups. There are daffodils and crocuses in bloom, but I have my eyes on this one particular magnolia tree in the village that is preparing to show off. When the day comes that I turn the corner and see it in bloom, that's when spring has sprung for me. And what has that got to do with maps and drumsticks? Absolutely nothing.

Maps from the books The Food of France, illustrated by Russell Bryant,
and The Food of India, by Rosanna Vecchio

Recently my 9-year old was working on a project for school about food and food miles, which made us talk a lot about food, or let's say more than usual. Since pizza is his favourite it was sort of given that Italy would find its way into his project. That's where my map of Italy came in handy. Since then it has been spread out on my table and has led to some serious map-mania (I love illustrated maps) and travel discussions: One wants to go to Japan, another to Fiji or Hawaii. I even got the question, Mom, what's it like in North Korea?, which made me wonder if they served latte over there. I cannot say that drinking latte in North Korea is on my bucket list but who knows what the future holds?

I'm not sure what I would do without Google maps but I have to say that nothing replaces the feeling of spreading out a map on a table and making travel plans, or just daydreaming.

With Easter coming up I was thinking about what to prepare in the kitchen. When I think about my childhood and Easter I remember chocolate eggs and fancy meals. I don't know about you but at Easter I like to keep things simple. I see no need to spend hours in the kitchen preparing something, which made me think of chicken drumsticks.

The simplicity of preparing and cooking marinated drumsticks appeals to me. I like marinated chicken but I don't want the taste of the marinade to overpower the taste of the meat. Perhaps that philosophy applies to all my cooking; I'm not particularly fond of one dominant taste. I recommend letting the drumsticks marinate in the fridge overnight. When serving them with rice I usually roast sesame seeds on a pan and sprinkle them over the rice before serving.

MARINATED CHICKEN DRUMSTICKS

9-10 chicken drumsticks, preferably free-range
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 tablespoon tamari sauce
1 tablespoon orange juice, freshly squeezed
1 red chilli
small piece of fresh ginger
optional: a few drops Tabasco sauce

Remove the seeds and finely chop the chilli. Peel and finely chop the ginger.

Put the chicken drumsticks with all the ingredients in a large freezer bag. Seal the bag and rotate it to make sure that all the drumsticks are coated with the marinade. Place the bag in a bowl in the fridge and let the chicken marinate for at least 2-4 hours, preferably overnight, turning occasionally.

Once the chicken has marinated, place the drumsticks on a baking tray with a rack. Cook in the oven at 200°C/400°F (180° fan oven) for 35 minutes (until the juices are no longer pink).

Serve with, for example, white or brown basmati rice and tamari sauce, and perhaps with sliced avocado and red peppers on the side.

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