Black Bean Croquettes with Mango Salsa and Lime-Cilantro Cream

My veggie cake/patty/whatever kick has continued—probably because of the heat. If you must cook inside (as opposed to grilling meat outside) and if it is too hot to work up an appetite for said grilled meat anyway, vegetarian seems like a good way to go.

I gotta be honest—I am not sold on the bean veggie patty thing yet. Is it bad I had a desperate urge to put bacon in these? Eaten plain, they are decent but nothing amazing. (Note I like plenty of vegetarian food–it is the veggie patty thing I am having trouble with). But maybe people rarely eat them plain anyway and that is my real problem—I eat hamburgers plain all the time; I don’t use buns. I don’t think I like veggie burgers plain—but I will admit when paired correctly they turn into a fantastic meal. And such is the case here, where I served the black bean croquettes with a sour cream/yogurt mix flavored with lime and cilantro and topped it all with a fabulous mango salsa.

Well this is a first for me–I totally forgot to take pictures and did not even realize it until now. How mortifying. I’ve probably been a bit distracted planning Alex’s birthday party for this Sunday. Hopefully I will remember to take photos of that!

Black Bean Croquettes

3 cans-worth (I used dried) beans of choice (I used a mix of black and some Rio Zape beans from Rancho Gordo)

¼ cup veggie stock—or cooking liquid from beans if using dried

½ cup minced sweet bell pepper

3 cloves garlic, minced

¼ cup finely chopped red onion

1 egg, lightly beaten

1 ½ t cumin

1 ½ t ancho chile powder

¼ cup cornmeal*

Juice from ½ lime

½ cup chopped cilantro

Oil for cooking

Using a nonstick skillet (it is not necessary but will reduce the amount of oil used), heat about ½ tablespoon of neutral oil. Saute the sweet bell pepper, garlic and onion until softened. Using a potato masher or pulsing in a food processor, smash the beans together into a chunky mush. Mix in the pepper/onion mixture, the cumin and ancho, the stock, lime juice, cilantro, egg and ¼ cup cornmeal.

*Add more cornmeal if the mixture is really runny (I definitely needed to).

Heat the nonstick skillet back up on medium heat and add about 1 tablespoon of oil. Rather than try to shape into patties, I used a large cookie scoop and scooped the beans onto the skillet. They will cook in 3-4 minutes on the first side and 2-3 minutes on the second side. After they are flipped once, you could sprinkle cheese on them if desired. You will probably need to re-oil the pan in between batches. Serve with Mango Salsa and Lime-Cilantro Cream.

Mango Salsa

Red onion, finely chopped

Lime juice

Chopped mango

Pinch of salt and pepper

I never measure for salsa—I just start tasting before I have run out of any given ingredient so that I can adjust. Keep a bag of tortilla chips around for this—it is the best way to decide if you have the flavor right as the salsa can be a bit strong if you eat it straight.

Lime-Cilantro Cream

½ cup sour cream

½ cup plain yogurt

Juice from ½ lime

2 T chopped cilantro

Whisk all ingredients together and serve.