Recipe: Black Bean Patties with Corn Relish {eat.live.be}

I'm fairly certain I had an out-of-body experience yesterday that involved a jar of nutella and a jar of cookie butter jumping out of my cabinets, into my hands and then scooping themselves into my mouth while I moaned in pleasure protest.

I tried to stop them.  By, you know...licking every crevice of the two jars that my tongue could reach and then throwing the jars out after they were empty.

That'll show 'em.



And then, when all was said and done, I breathed a huge sigh of relief that they were gone and could no longer haunt every waking moment of my existence.

Truly, they can be so persistent.  And my self control is nearly zilch, especially during one specific week every month when it may or may not be in the negative range. 



My stomach was none too pleased with all of this "extra-curricular activity".  It gurgled.  Angrily.

And then there were my taste buds, which were overstimulated by all of that sugar and not in a good way.

I had to make it up to them somehow.  Apologize for my indiscretions.

Enter these black bean patties.  Forget Hallmark cards, these babies say "I'm sorry" better than a cheesy quote and a picture of a sunset ever could.  They are slightly spicy, smoky and just a tad bit sweet, not to mention healthy and utterly delicious.

The perfect make-up food.  I'm pretty sure they'll be making a regular occurrence in the Eats Well With Others kitchen...because though I'd like to say that this excessive consumption will never happen again, we all know that next month I'll probably convince myself that, yes I can finally muster up the self restraint necessary to consume a jar of cookie butter in a reasonable fashion.  And then a few day later I'll find myself with an empty jar and a craving for these babies.

It happens.  But at least now we have some damage control recipes under our belt.

**To anyone in the NYC area, the Whole Foods Market at Columbus Circle is hosting what is sure to be a fabulous public beer tasting event on Friday, July 13th from 4-8 pm.  Whole Foods has partnered with Harpoon Brewery to create a new beer together called Saison Liaison.  The brewers will be present, and beer samples and refreshments will be provided.  It will most certainly be a fabulous way to relax after the work week is over and kick off the weekend!



Black Bean Patties with Corn Relish
Serves 6, adapted from Elly Says Opa via Annie's Eats

Ingredients 

• 1 cup dried black beans, soaked overnight and boiled in salted water until tender (or 2 15-oz cans)
• 2 roasted red bell peppers, divided
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 chipotle chile in adobo, minced
• 1 medium onion, finely diced
• 1/2-2/3 cup cornmeal
• salt and pepper
• 2 tsp canola oil
• 2 cups corn kernels
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 jalapeno, seeded and minced
• 1 medium tomato, seeded and diced
• juice of 1 lime
• 1 avocado, diced
• 2 tbsp minced cilantro

Instructions

1. To make the patties, place half of the beans in a food processor along with 1 coarsely chopped red bell pepper, the eggs, oregano, cumin, and chipotle pepper.  Process until smooth.
2. Finely chop the remaining red bell pepper.
3. Mash the remaining beans.  Stir the pureed bean mixture, red bell pepper, and onion into the mashed beans.  Add enough cornmeal so that the mix can be formed into patties.  Season to taste with salt and pepper. Refrigerate for thirty minutes.
4. While the bean mixture is chilling, make the corn relish.  Heat the canola oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat.  Add in the corn and saute until starting to brown, 2-3 minutes.  Add the jalapeno and garlic and cook until just fragrant, about 1 minute.  Stir in the tomato and lime juice and turn off the heat.  Mix in a large bowl with the avocado and cilantro. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
5. Form the bean mixture into approximately 15 patties.  Heat about 2 tbsp canola oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add the patties in batches, cooking until lightly browned, about 3 minutes per side.  Serve the patties warm topped with the corn relish.