Yucca Black Bean Fritters Crunch Patties Recipes

YUCCA BLACK BEAN FRITTERS / CRUNCH PATTIES

Steps:

• Peel and wash the yucca. Cut into pieces.
• Boil in salted water for about 15-20 minutes or until tender. (shorter time if you use a pressure cooker; which is just a dream in my current ghetto kitchen that has no $%*#@ space.).
• Plop the tender yucca pieces into the food processor. Add the flour as well. Rinse and drain the black beans and put them in too.
• Continuously pulse until the ingredients have pureed together-- but not entirely pureed, about halfway. There needs to be some whole beans and yucca chunks in there or else there's nothing to chew on.
• Add the spices, and butter or oil and pulse again until melded.
• If your food processor is a pain in the @$$ like mine, chances are some large yucca chunks and whole black beans are in there too. This is fine, I actually found this really added to the texture and flavor.
• With your hands, form patties about the size of yo-yos. There should be about 15-20 of them.
• Let the patties sit for a while (about 10 minutes. In my case, I had to run to class so I put them in a container in the fridge for 2 hours and fried them up when I returned.).
• Pour canola oil in a frying pan and make sure the oil doesn't get too hot.
• Fry the patties in the oil, about 2-3 minutes on each side.
• Blot on paper towels and serve with salsa, sour cream, and/or guacamole or your favorite dipping sauce and enjoy.

BLACK BEAN FRITTERS

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine the bell peppers, zucchini, and black beans.
• In another bowl, combine the flour, corn meal, baking powder, and brown sugar, and mix well.
• Add the dry ingredients to the vegetables in the large bowl, and fold until well coated (careful not to crush the black beans).
• Add the buttermilk, eggs, salt, and pepper, and stir together until the batter forms - it should resemble very thick pancake batter; if the batter is too thick, you can add buttermilk then an egg until the correct consistency is achieved.
• In a large deep pan or deep fryer, heat the oil to 350 degrees F and drop a spoonful of batter into the hot oil; fry until golden brown then remove, drain, let cool a bit and then taste it to see if the seasonings are to your liking - adjust seasoning if necessary.
• Drop completed batter by large spoonfuls into the hot oil and fry fritters until golden brown, about 3 minutes on each side, and they're slightly puffed and cooked through.
• Drain well, serve, and enjoy!
• These go well with a nice green chile sauce and/or sour cream.
• I've also eaten these quite happily for breakfast!
• Note: black soybeans can be used in place of the regular black beans, too. Also, please be advised that these are a *fried* food, and therefore need to be drained well! As with all fried foods, the different oils used for frying can change the outcome. I personally use peanut oil because it has a higher temperature point. Draindraindrain (and perhaps dab with paper towels) if you don't want your fritters to get greasy - if drained properly, they'll be perfect. :).
• These fritters come highly recommended by family, friends, and the professional chef who created them. :).

CUBAN BLACK BEAN PATTIES

Steps:

• Set aside 1/2 cup of the beans.
• Place the other 1 1/2 cups in a medium bowl with garlic, cumin, cilantro and salt. Partially mash with a fork.
• Place remaining 1/2 cup of beans in a food processor with the egg. Process for approximately 30 seconds or until well combined.
• Add bean puree to slightly mashed beans in a bowl, and stir until combined.
• Add cheese and onion, combine well.
• Divide the bean mixture into 4 parts. Shape each portion into a 1/2 inch thick patty.
• Place cornmeal on a plate or in a shallow dish.
• Dredge each patty in cornmeal until thoroughly but thinly covered.
• Heat a non-stick pan over medium heat. Coat with cooking spray.
• Add patties and cook for approximately 4 minutes on each side or until browned.
• Carefully move onto plates with a spatula.
• Serve hot, with sour cream and rice.

EASY BLACK BEAN FRITTERS

Steps:

• Rinse and drain beans.
• In a separate bowl, mix all dry ingredients. Stir in egg white, and add milk slowly until a sticky, spreadable paste forms. NOT runny, but not a solid blob.
• Add beans, and mix well. I do not mash ALL of the beans. The texture of a few whole beans is nice. However, I do stir the mixture vigorously to break up and mash about 1/3 of the beans.
• Add cheese and stir. If the mixture seems too dry, add milk.
• Form into patties of the desired size, and pan fry for a couple of minutes on each side.
• Serve with sour cream, cheese, salsa, guacamole, etc.
• Yummy!