Crispy Black Bean Cakes

Black bean with there traditions steeped in Cuban and various other ethnic cuisine have found  away into my culinary rotation when I decided to make these luscious hearty beans into crispy cakes. I have never had them any other way since. I have experimented with different items in them and have made the following recipe over 5 times so far. This is Alexa's Crispy black bean crab cakes. Try them tonight for a simple and healthy dinner! The following recipe makes 5-6 cakes.

You will need
1-15oz can black beans rinsed and drained
1/2 cup crab meat
1-tbsp habanero chili (sub with jalapeno) diced
2-cloves minced garlic
1-small shallot minced
1-scallion diced
1-egg slightly beaten
1/3 cup of Panko bread crumbs
2-tbsp olive oil
2-tbsp parsley
salt and pepper to taste

Optional:
Sour cream, lime

In a skillet heat 1 tsp of olive oil in non stick pan. Add the shallot, garlic and chili and cook for 2 minutes. Set aside to cool In a large bowl place the black beans and mash about 1/3 of them. Add the egg, crab meat and half the bread crumbs. Add the cooked mixture and parsley. Combine being careful not to over mix if you are using lump crab meat. Form into patties in the desired size. Place the patties in the freezer for 5 to 10 minutes. In the skillet add the olive oil and heat. Remove patties from freezer. Using the remaining bread crumbs coat the patties and place in the skillet, careful not to overcrowd. Cook in a medium medium high heat  until golden about 3 minutes. Turn over and cook on the other side. Remove to a plate and let cool.

You can eat it simply with sour cream and hot sauce or over a bead of mixed greens seasoned with a bit of olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper.

Cheers!

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