Spicy Black Bean Cakes

My seedlings 1 month later

About five years ago I made a commitment that the animal

products I eat be local, organic and pasture raised

 by farmers I know and trust 

Financially for me, this means that I can't afford to 

make meat my main entree every day

This is good

It opens me up to the wonderful world of 

grains, legumes and vegetables

and keeps me curious how to produce 

a tasty meal that is still

balanced with complete proteins and healthy carbs etc.

At my first cafe -The Production Line- in Cincinnati

I used to make black bean cakes and top them 

with salsa and sour cream

I was certain that I had put the recipe in my first cookbook

but just couldn't find it, so I made these up instead

and decided to add some roasted sweet potato to the mix, since I am

in love with them combined with black beans

 This recipe will make about 14 cakes, because I am all about

freezing some for later, so if you want to divide it in half

and maybe have some left for lunch the next day, feel free

Black Bean Cakes:

2 cups dried black beans cooked in salted water until tender-

let the beans cool in the cooking water and then drain

4 small sweet potatoes, roasted in a 400 degree oven until tender, 

scoop out the yummy flesh and set aside

4-5 garlic cloves, chopped

1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro - use the stems it's where the flavor is

3/4 cup almond meal -almonds processed until fine crumbs in a food processor-

up to a teaspoon of aleppo or cayenne pepper - you make the call how spicy you like things-

1 T dried oregano or 3 T chopped fresh

1 tsp onion powder

1 T cumin

2 T arrowroot or cornstarch to help hold them together

Juice of a lemon

1/2 cup diced roasted poblano peppers, or red pepper if you don't have any or none at all!

1/2 cup or more chopped fresh chives

Place everything except the roasted poblanos and chives in the bowl of a food processor

and process until nicely blended and fairly smooth

you may have to do this in two batches depending on the size of your processor

Scoop the bean mix into a bowl and fold in the peppers and chives and

taste for seasoning, adding more whatever,

I also added a few shakes of Ume vinegar at this point as well

Form into burger size patties and place in fridge to chill for at least 30 minutes

I made two salads to go with my bean cakes

a simple salsa with fresh tomatoes tossed with garlic, cilantro, diced onion,

salt, sherry vinegar and a bit of olive oil

and a kale salad where I julienned kale -tough stems removed- and

tossed it with equal parts of lemon juice and olive oil with salt and pepper

It is best if you let both of these stand at room temp for at least 30 minutes

for the flavors to meld and the kale to "cook" in the lemon juice a bit

I pan fried the cakes in coconut oil in a non stick pan until they were nice

and brown on both sides

I served them on top of the kale salad with the tomato salsa,

some sliced avocado and I used Greek style yogurt, but sour cream would be lovely too

Enjoy! And have a wonderful weekend

Kyra