Black Bean Pancakes-Beth Hensperger

I wonder how much Mr. ETB could sell his lunch for at work? Sometimes I'm embarrassed to send him with this elaborate of a lunch, but there wasn't enough for a second night's dinner, and I wasn't going to toss it out. Pictured are: Black Bean Pancakes, homemade salsa, cole slaw, rice salad with lima beans. Oh yeah, there's sour cream and some cheese because he needs the fat. The coleslaw was really excellent-someone remind me to post that recipe some time.



This is the third recipe from The Best Quick Breads I've made and again, it was met with rave reviews. I had to use a handful of pinto beans to total the amount needed in the recipe for black beans, and i used shallots rather than green onions (because I had them) but otherwise I followed the recipe with great results. The book is getting quite a workout during the heat wave as I refuse to light the oven. If it can't be cooked on the hob, it isn't getting cooked. I've made several batches of crumpets this week ;)

The recipe makes twelve 4 inch pancakes

1 clove garlic, minced
1 bunch green onions white part and 1 inch of green part, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 1/3 cups black beans, rinsed and drained-divided
1 pickled jalapeño, minced (I omitted this)
1 teaspoon red chili powder
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds toasted in a dry pan, and crushed in a mortar (I used ground)
3/4 cup cooked brown rice or steamed barley at room temperature
2-3 tablespoons fresh snipped cilantro (I omitted this as well)
1 cup yellow cornmeal for coating
Sour cream and salsa for topping

Saute the garlic and onion in the oil until soft but not browned. Puree 1 cup of the beans in a food processor (I just mashed them well)Place in a bowl with remaining beans and mash with a fork. Add onion, garlic, pepper, powder and cumin. Mash to combine. Stir in rice and cilantro. The mixture will be stiff enough to form into patties.

Coat the patties in the cornmeal and flatten it with a spoon. Both sides of the pancake should be coated with cornmeal.

* at this point, I chilled mine on a plate as I made them a couple hours ahead-this worked just fine.

Lightly coat the bottom of a nonstick skillet with some olive oil (I used cast iron) and place over medium/high heat. Fry a few at a time, turning to brown on both sides. Add more oil as needed. Serve hot.