Black Bean Pancakes

I am a huge fan of pretty much anything with black beans. We're talking Huge. Fan. So, I'm claiming that as my excuse for why the picture on this post is real blurry. It's because I was just way too excited to adequately photograph my plate. Lame, but totally true.

This recipe is an unexpected powerhouse (fast) dinner, that was introduced to me by the awesome author at More Cheese, More Chocolate. I'm a huge fan of her work and decided to give this recipe a spin. She got the inspiration from Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything (the old edition). One word: Awesome.

Recipe:
2 c. canned beans (I used all black beans.)
1 c. milk
1 egg
2 tbsp. melted butter or olive oil (both work, but the pancakes with butter are a bit more prone to burning on the stove)
1 c. whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp. chili powder (optional)
salt and pepper to taste.

Directions:
1) Roughly mash up the beans with the back of a fork until about half of them are crushed up.
2) Add milk, egg and butter/oil and stir up.
3) Add flour, chili powder (if using), salt and pepper. Stir to combine, but don't overstir it.
4) Melt a bit of flour in a skillet, and cook them up like pancakes. They take about 3 minutes a side, depending on how thick the batter is, and how hot your skillet is.
5) Keep warm on a pan in a 150 degree oven until all pancakes are cooked.
6) Serve with salsa, corn chips, corn on the cob (all pictured above), sour cream, guacamole, etc. Basically, whatever you want.

I served these to a (very) skeptical audience, and they were totally won over. I really think that you will be too.

Until our next dinner,
ceh.