Black Bean Cakes with Curry Cauliflower Sauce

It rained all week here in NYC, and today its snowing. This morning I saw the biggest snowflakes of my life falling right outside my window. Oh, but it was so beautiful! I don't miss the sun as much when snow is falling from the sky.

I love spice. I can handle a lot of heat. So I decided to try my hand at making Vegetable and Bean Curry last weekend for my cousins who came over for lunch. But this post isn't about that. I just want to say that the Veggie Curry was GOOD. In it was a medley of Sweet Potato, Carrots, Cauliflower, Peas, Corn, and Three Types of Beans. The creamy Coconut milk with the Veggies and Curry made for an absolutely divine lunch.
But this post is about the "leftover inspired" dish I made.















I was reading Vegan Soul Kitchen by Bryant Terry, and in it there is a recipe for Black Eye Pea Fritters (Recipe), and I had some left over beans from the curry I made. In the curry I used Black Eye Peas, Sangre De Toro and Yellow Indian Lady Beans from Rancho Gordo. I made so many beans that not only did I use some in the Curry, but I also made rice and beans for my cousin who "hates" curries, and I freezed a hug jar of them, AND I had left overs!

Okay, so back to Fritters. I don't like frying things, so I decided to make Bean Cakes.
I also had some left over Coconut Milk and cauliflower, so I made a Cauliflower Curry Puree to use as a sauce for the Bean Cakes.
I do say, It was a fine idea!

Black Bean Cakes with Thick Cauliflower Curry Sauce

Bean Cakes (adapted from Bryant Terry's Fritter Recipe, though not vegan)

1 cup cooked Black Eyed Peas and/or various other beans
1/2 medium onion, diced

1 teaspoon minced thyme
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2  tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon coarse sea salt
1/2 cup finely chopped green bell pepper (i neglected to add the pepper)
1/3 cups cornmeal

one egg

butter for skillet

In a food processor, add beans, onion, thyme, cayenne, vinegar, water, salt, and pepper. Puree until smooth. Pour the mixture into a bowl and add the egg and cornmeal. You may need to add more cornmeal to thicken the mixture. Refrigerate for one hour.

 

In the last 15-20 minutes of the Refrigeration of the bean puree, you can make the 

Cauliflower Curry Sauce. You'll need:

 

2 cups Cauliflower Florets Diced

1 cup Coconut Milk

1 tbsp Curry Powder

1 tsp Ground Coriander

1/4 tsp Sea Salt 

Drizzle of Olive Oil or Slither of Butter for Pan

In a saucepan over medium heat, heat Oil or Butter, then add Curry Powder and Coriander and allow it to saute for about 30 seconds. 

Stir in the Cauliflower, and cook for a few minutes. Now add the Coconut milk. Bring the mixture to a boil, immediately reduce heat, and allow to simmer for about 10 minutes, or until the cauliflower is soft.

Add Curry Cauliflower to a food processor, and puree until smooth. Pour puree back into saucepan, reheat, and season to taste.

back to the Bean Cakes.

Remove the Bean Batter from the refrigerator, and cook the cakes like you would do normal pancakes. However, be sure to use a bit more butter, they have a tendency to stick. 

I served my Bean Cakes on a bed of fresh Arugula (also left over from the curry meal with my cousins), and poured the Cauliflower Curry Sauce right on top!