Mark National Vegetarian Week with black bean cakes and mango salsa

May 24 2011 Wirral's Vegi Table team Mo Hall and Sarah Kearns are treat your tastebuds to vegetarian taste sensation!

Black Bean Cakes with Mango Salsa

To mark National Vegetarian Week  this week (May 23 -Sunday May 29), here’s a recipe for black bean cakes with mango salsa.

The Vegi Table team Mo Hall and Sarah Kearns are  treating your taste buds to a vegetarian taste sensation!

The ladies run a series of courses at Claremont Farm in Wirral.

Coming up, they have a slicing and dicing course this Saturday, May 28; Taste of Summer Veg June 25. Others include  The Mysterious Middle East,  Herbs & Spices and Pizza Pasta Pesto. For more details of the courses run by Sarah and Mo visit www.vegi-table.co.uk or call 07974 968 830 to book.

Black bean cakes with mango salsa

Black bean cakes: (Serves 4 – 6)

Ingredients;  1 tbsp olive oil
½  red onion, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 red pepper, finely diced
1 tsp cumin
½ tsp dried thyme
½ tsp allspice
300g black beans
150g sweet potato, peeled and grated
2 tbsp coriander, chopped
½ tsp salt
3 tbsp water
100g  gram flour
oil for frying

Mango salsa:

6 tbsp mango puree (or flesh of one very ripe fresh mango)
2 tbsp runny honey
2 tbsp Dijon mustard
2 tbsp water
1 (hot) chilli, seeded

Method

Cakes:
1.Sauté the onions for 5 minutes, add the garlic and the peppers and spices and cook for 5 minutes, until the pepper is tender. Remove from the heat and let cool to room temperature.

2.In a processor, blend the onion mixture with the black beans, sweet potato, coriander, salt and water.  Put this mixture into a large bowl and add the gram flour. Mix until well incorporated and it holds together as a firm dough. If the mixture is too dry add more water.

3.Shape into cakes about 2 inches wide and ½ inch thick; allow to rest for 20 minutes in the fridge.

4.Heat a little oil in a non stick frying pan and in batches; fry the cakes for about 3 minutes on each side, or until browned and crisp. Serve with the mango salsa.

Salsa: In a small processor blend all the ingredients together until smooth.