Red Bean Burgers

3 tablespoons of olive oil, plus more as needed
1/2 cup of minced onion
1/4 cup of minced celery
1 large clove of garlic, finely minced
1 1/2 cups of cooked dark red kidney beans or one 15-        ounce can, drained and rinsed
3/4 cup of coarsely chopped pecans
1 teaspoon of tomato paste
A dash of Tabasco sauce, or more to taste
1/2 teaspoon of minced fresh thyme or 1/4 teaspoon of         dried
1/2 teaspoon of sweet paprika
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/8 teaspoon of cayenne
3/4 a a cup of dry beard crumbs
6 burger rolls, toasted
Condiments for burgers



Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and the celery, cover, and cook, stirring a few times until softened, perhaps 5 minutes.

Add the garlic and cook for another 30 seconds.

Transfer the onion mixture to a food processor and add the kidney beans, the pecans, the tomato paste, the Tabasco sauce, the thyme, the paprika, the salt, the cayenne, and 1/2 cup of the bread crumbs.

Process the mixture until everything is well combined, leaving some texture.

Turn out the mixture into a bowl, and shape into 6 burgers.

Coat the burgers lightly and evenly with the remaining 1/4 cup of bread crumbs. Cover the burgers and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.

In batches, add the burgers to the skillet and brown, turning once, on both sides, about 5 minutes per side, adding more oil to the pan as necessary.

Place on the toasted buns and serve along with the condiments,