Bean Patties
Tasty, nourishing bean patties — almost like the real meat thing! A lot of people cook beans as a side for meat or other dishes, but not everyone realizes they can stand in for a meat course altogether — say, as bean patties. From the first bite, these are hard to tell apart from meat cutlets: just as dense, tasty, and filling. The bean mixture is a little dry and crumbly, though, so add plenty of oil when frying and they'll come out juicy and hold together well.
Cooking method
-
Step 1:
Gather the ingredients for the bean patties. Soak the beans overnight so they swell well. Use any beans you have on hand — red or white; the color doesn't affect how the patties turn out. You can buy breadcrumbs or make your own by grinding plain dried bread in a coffee grinder.
-
Step 2:
Rinse the beans well, cover with water, and leave overnight. Rinse the swollen beans thoroughly again, cover with cold water, and bring to a boil. Cook for about 40 minutes, salting toward the end (to taste), then cook about 5 minutes more. Turn off the heat and drain the water — but not all of it; keep some of the cooking liquid.
-
Step 3:
Peel the onion and carrot. Finely chop the onion and grate the carrot.
-
Step 4:
Heat the vegetable oil in a skillet. Add the onion and carrot and sauté until lightly golden.
-
Step 5:
Transfer the sautéed vegetables to the pot with the beans. Season to taste with salt and ground black pepper. Add some fresh herbs if you like.
-
Step 6:
Use a blender to purée the contents of the pot into a smooth mixture. Pour the breadcrumbs onto a plate. Scoop up a tablespoon of the bean mixture, set it in the breadcrumbs, and shape it into a patty. Keep the patties fairly thin so they soak up the oil well while frying and don't fall apart. The beans take up only as much oil as they need and spread it through the mixture, so don't worry about them turning out greasy.
-
Step 7:
Pour vegetable oil into a skillet and add the patties. Fry for about 20 minutes, until golden on both sides, then carefully lift them onto a plate. Serve with fresh vegetables and sour cream as a dish on its own or alongside meat. It's really delicious. Enjoy!
- Remember that any oil is only healthy up to its smoke point — the temperature at which it starts to burn and forms harmful compounds, including carcinogens. It's worth learning each oil's smoke point so you can pick the best one for frying.
- Important! The wrong pan can ruin even the best recipe, so it pays to choose the right skillet for the dish.
- If you use a pre-made spice blend, always check the label. These blends often already contain salt, so keep that in mind or you risk over-salting.
Caloric content of the products possible in the composition of the dish
- Carrots - 33 kcal/100g
- Dried carrots - 275 kcal/100g
- Boiled carrots - 25 kcal/100g
- Ground black pepper - 255 kcal/100g
- Vegetable oil - 873 kcal/100g
- Salt - 0 kcal/100g
- Onion - 41 kcal/100g
- Breadcrumbs - 347 kcal/100g
- Red beans - 93 kcal/100g
