black bean cakes (walkabout, part two)

Don’t these black bean cakes look delicious? They taste great and are HEALTHY, too! (recipe below)

The initial stop on Sunday’s “Holiday Walkabout” was at our neighborhood senior care center, Idylwood. The staff and residents had participated in September’s “Harvest Walkabout” and wanted to join us again for our December event. We were thrilled to include them and they rolled out the red carpet for the lucky adults and children who began the tour at 4pm. Their extensive vegetable gardens were all decked out with twinkling lights and festive touches. In addition to frosted zucchini bread and cookies, the staff created these scrumptious black bean cakes for us to sample (Tate and I didn’t quite sample them as much as devour a good number!).

They are really simple to make and are such a clever addition to a holiday table – don’t they look just like cookies? Have some fun with your friends and bring these “healthy treats” to your next holiday exchange!

[Special thanks to the staff at Idylwood for sharing the recipe]

Black Bean Cakes

Prep time: 12 minutes
Cook time: 4 minutes

Ingredients
1 cup low sodium black beans (drained)
2 tbsp tomato paste
2 medium garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp + 1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp salt
2 tbsp bread crumbs
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
2 tsp extra virgin olive oil plus olive oil spray

Combine black beans, tomato paste, garlic, 1/2 tsp cumin and salt in a large bowl – mash with a fork until thoroughly combined. Divide evenly into 8 balls and set aside.

Combine the breadcrumbs, black pepper and 1 tsp cumin in a shallow bowl. Roll balls in crumb mixture – shape into 1/2″ thick patties

Coat a large non-stick pan with a bit of olive oil cooking spray and extra olive oil. Cookies patties about 2 minutes on each side over medium-high heat (or until lightly browned).

Serve with fresh salsa and sour cream; garnish with cilantro (optional)