Black-Bean Mango Croquettes

Lately, I’ve been finding myself wanting bean burgers but without the cumbersome bread – I know, you’re thinking what kind of wierdo calls bread cumbersome? But sometimes I’m just not feelin’ the dense carby conglomerate.

However, the idea of eating a ‘bean burger patty’ just doesn’t have an appealing ring to it.

So what does any rational foodie do? Change the portion size and call it something else, preferably something people might mispronounce.

These, my friends, are not little bean burgers – they are bean croquettes. Doesn’t that just sound more impressive and exciting?

No? Try rolling the ‘r’ when you say it and pretend you’re an uppity waiter (Croquettes, madame?)

I thought I’d jazz up these little numbers with some mango that was hiding in the back of the freezer, artfully dodging being tossed into a smoothie. And by golly miss molly, they worked wonderfully, rounding out but not overwhelming the flavor.

Added bonus: if you have a food processor, it does pretty much 90% of the work for this recipe. Minimal effort required + fancypants name + delicious flavor = winner in my book.

So, make these tonight and present them to your little messieurs and mademoiselles.

Or you can always just make a bean burger 🙂

Materials

Makes ~ 22 croquettes or 4 servings

• 1 cup sweet potato, diced (~2 small potatoes)
• 1 cup frozen mango, thawed
• 2 cups black beans, cooked
• 1 small onion
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 tablespoons cornmeal
• 2 teaspoons cumin
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• 1 teaspoon thyme
• oil

Methods

1. Dice potatoes and boil until fork tender (~5 minutes in the microwave)

Drain, smash up a bit and set aside.

2. Peel onion and garlic then pulse in food processor (alternative: chop everything into very very small pieces).

3. Add mango. Pulse. Add 1.5 cups of black beans. Pulse. Add cumin, chili and thyme.

4. Transfer mixture to bowl and stir in remaining half cup of black beans, sweet potatoes and cornmeal.

5. Heat skillet to medium-medium high heat and lightly coat with oil. Scoop small balls onto hot skillet and then lightly press down with spatula (I used my handy-dandy ice cream scoop and made ~22 croquettes).

6. Cook 3-4 minutes per side, until exterior has browned slightly and croquette holds together when removed from skillet. (They’ll still be just a tiny bit crumbly)

7. Plate up: serve on a bed of mixed greens or alongside your favorite roasted veggies.

 Results & Conclusions

These croquettes have substantial flavor but they really sing when paired with a sauce….my chipotle-chili sauce to be exact. That recipe’s coming at ya this afternoon (I know – 2 posts in one day? Who am I??)

These croquettes are prime candidates for that ever-growing number of social gatherings requiring finger foods (like office potlucks, church potlucks, 80s dance parties…etc.)

Or just keep them all to yourself. I won’t tell.

Bon appétite!