Black Eye Pea Chile Cakes
Makes 12 small patties
Borrowing flavors from Senegal, these little spicy little black eye pea patties can be fried, but are just as tasty baked. Serve with Green Mango Peanut Relish or more hot sauce and a green salad or couscous.
Tip: To pan fry patties, slick the bottom of a heated cast iron skillet with 2 tablespoons of oil. Fry 3-4 patties at a time, adding a little more oil with each batch. Drain on a plate lined with a few paper towels and eat hot.
One 14 ounce can black eyed peas (2 cups cooked ), drained and rinsed
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 yellow onion, minced
4 scallions, trimmed and minced
4 cloves garlic
1 hot green chili pepper, minced
1 tablespoon lemon juice
½ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon prepared hot sauce
2 tablespoons chickpea flour
2 tablespoons wheat gluten flour
½ cup dry breadcrumbs
oil for brushing tops of patties
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and brush with a little oil. In a mixing bowl use a potato masher or large fork to mash together peas and oil to form a chunky paste. Mash in minced onion, scallions, garlic, minced chile pepper, lemon juice, salt, and hot sauce until blended. Sprinkle in chickpea flour and gluten flour and knead with your hands to combine, then knead in breadcrumbs.
2. Use a large ice cream scoop to scoop balls of bean mixture onto the baking sheet. Use your hand to flatten each ball to about 3/4 inch thick, then brush tops generously with oil. Bake for 15 minutes and remove from oven. Flip over patties, brush other side with oil and bake another 15-20 minutes or until golden. Remove from oven and if desired brush hot patties with a little more oil. Serve hot!
