Chili Bean Cakes With Avocado Salsa Recipes

BLACK BEAN CAKES WITH CORN SALSA AND AVOCADO SAUCE

Steps:

• Mix together garlic, onion, red pepper, corn, egg, chili powders, oregano, and cumin. Season with salt and pepper.
• Mash the black beans a bit and add to the bowl.
• Stir in the bread crumbs.
• Form into patties, and chill in the fridge for 20 minutes or so. It helps keep the patties together.
• Mix together all of the ingredients for the salsa while the black bean patties are chilling.
• To make the avocado sauce, put the avocado, sour cream, lime, and cumin, in the blender. Blend until smooth. It is a very thick sauce, you can thin it with more lime juice or some water.
• Heat a pan over medium heat. Pour in a few Tablespoons of olive oil and put the patties in the pan. Resist the urge to flip the cakes to soon. They will fall apart. Cook until they brown and then flip. Cook the other side.
• I put mine on a bed of spinach leaves. Top with corn salsa and avocado sauce. Serve with lime wedges.

BLACK BEAN ANCHO CHILI

Steps:

• Make salsa:
• Halve and peel the avocado and cut it into 1/4-inch dice. In a bowl toss the avocado with the juice, the onion, the jalapeño, and salt and pepper to taste. Makes 1 1/2 cups.
• Make chili:
• In a large bowl let the beans soak in enough water to cover them by 2 inches for 1 hour and drain them. In a large heavy kettle cook the onions and 4 of the garlic cloves, minced, in the oil over moderate heat, stirring, until the onions are softened, add the cumin, and cook the mixture, stirring, for 30 seconds. Add the beans and 6 cups of the water and simmer the mixture, uncovered, adding more water if necessary to keep the beans barely covered, for 1 hour, or until the beans are tender.
• While the beans are simmering, in a small saucepan bring the remaining 1 1/2 cups water to a boil, add the chilies, and remove the pan from the heat. Let the mixture stand for 20 minutes and in a blender puree the chilies with the liquid. Add the chili puree, to the bean mixture with the tomato puree, the broth, the bell pepper, the orégano, and salt to taste and simmer the mixture, uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes. Stir in the coriander, the lime juice, and the remaining 2 garlic cloves, minced, and simmer the chili for 5 minutes.
• The chili may be frozen or made 4 days in advance, cooled, uncovered, and kept covered and chilled. Serve the chili with the avocado salsa and the sour cream.