Pages

Monday, November 22, 2010

A Fiesta of Flavors for Meatless Mondays


Tonight's dinner was Black Bean Cakes with Cilantro-Scallion Slaw and Mexican Rice.

I started dinner by making the slaw which started with sour cream, scallions, cilantro, jalapeno, and fresh lime juice all pureed together in the food processor until smooth. The dressing was poured over some shredded cabbage along with salt to taste. The slaw was covered and refrigerated until serving time.

The Black Bean cakes started with 1/2 cup of canned black beans mashed together with an egg white in a bowl. I added the rest of the black beans, 1/4 cup ground corn-tortilla chips, 1/4 cup diced red bell pepper, a couple of tablespoons of grated onion, some ground coriander, chili powder and salt to taste. This mixture was set aside in the refrigerator for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile the Mexican rice was started by sauteing diced onion, carrot, celery, garlic, tomato paste, cumin, paprika, and cayenne pepper in a little oil for a couple of minutes. Some rice was then added along with some vegetable broth, brought to a boil, covered and simmered for 20 minutes. The rice was allowed to rest for another 5 minutes after the 20 minutes of cooking time.

After the 10 minute chilling time for the black bean cakes, they went into a skillet in some olive oil, and were sauteed about 4 minutes per side.

Dinner was plated by spooning the rice into a round ring mold, topped with a black bean cake and finally the slaw. The garnish was a lime wedge and some cilantro sprigs.

No comments:

Post a Comment