Black bean patties with dill and scallions
This recipe from the AMA cookbook combines black beans and what I think of as traditional Greek flavorings (garlic, scallions, dill, and yogurt). I couldn’t quite imagine the combination, so I decided to give it a try.
Ingredients:
- 4 cups cooked, salted black beans
- 1 tsp. olive oil + 2 tsp.
- 2 garlic cloves finely choped
- 1/2 cup dry bread crumbs
- 1/2 cup sliced scallions
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh dill
- 1/4 cup nonfat plain yogurt
- 2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce (I used a veggie version)
- 1/2 tsp. liquid hot pepper sauce (I use Cholula)
Instructions:
- Mash the beans with a potato masher.
- Saute the garlic in 1 tsp. olive oil in a large non-stick skillet.
- Add the garlic to the beans along with all the other ingredients.
- Form into 8 patties, each about 3 inches in diameter.
- Heat the remaining 2 tsp. of oil in the skillet and cook the patties over medium heat until nicely browned on both sides. You may need to cook the patties in two batches.
My notes:
When I tried to form the mixture into patties they stayed together quite well. The patties browned nicely on both sides, but the insides remained quite soft, basically like mashed black beans. The patties tasted like the sum of their parts. The flavorings were all individually detectable, but they didn’t really elevate the black beans–they just sat on top of the black bean flavor base. The recipe head note suggests trying this recipe with white beans–maybe that would be a better combination. Although the recipe is perfectly pleasant, I don’t think I would make the recipe again with black beans.
The main thing that seems to be missing from this recipe is some fat. Maybe feta would be a nice addition? Or a feta/yogurt sauce?
The recipe says to serve the patties with a chunky yogurt sauce: yogurt mixed with chopped tomatoes, scallions, dill, prepared horseradish, and black pepper. We just ate ours with plain yogurt.
Rating: B
Derek: B-
The captious vegetarian 
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