Q: I am slightly addicted to the Black Bean Organic Quinoa Cake with celery, radish, avocado, chipotle mayo and tzatziki sauce served at The Union Restaurant in Milton. I recently decided that I should try something different on the menu and thought it was delicious, I was wishing that I could make this dish at home the next day! Thanks. — Cheri Schuster, Milton
A: Chris Sedgwick sent us the recipe for this versatile burger created by chef Dionisio Valdez. "We have tried many black bean cakes and we think this is the best we have had." When the burger is served as a starter, it comes with a salad of thinly sliced radishes, celery and red onions, seasoned with salt and pepper and tossed with fresh lime juice, and garnished with sliced avocado, chipotle mayonnaise and tzatziki sauce.
“We also offer it as a burger on a toasted brioche bun with caramelized onions, avocado, arugula, tomato, pickles and chipotle mayo and serve it with a choice of housemade BBQ chips or fries.”
The restaurant starts with dried black beans in this recipe. If you’d like to do the same, soak the beans for a few hours and then cook in lightly salted water until tender. Drain and they’re ready to use. One cup of dried beans will yield about 2 cups cooked beans, and 1/2 cup dried quinoa cooked according to package directions will yield about 1 cup cooked.
The Union Restaurant’s Black Bean Cakes
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 small onion, diced
1 jalapeno, diced
2 cups cooked black beans, drained
1 cup cooked quinoa
1/2 cup panko
Kernels from 2 ears of corn
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
In a skillet, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat. Add red pepper, onion and jalapeno and saute until translucent. Remove from heat, put in medium bowl and set aside to cool.
In the bowl of a food processor, pulse black beans until the mixture is mostly smooth but still contains a few chunks. Move the black beans to the bowl with the cooked vegetables and add quinoa, panko, corn, cilantro, salt, cumin, chili powder, garlic powder and cayenne. Combine throughly, then refrigerate mixture at least one hour.
When ready to serve, heat remaining olive oil in a large skillet. Form black bean mixture into 6 patties and saute until browned on both sides and warmed through. Serve immediately. Makes: 6 cakes
Per cake: 303 calories (percent of calories from fat, 27), 11 grams protein, 46 grams carbohydrates, 9 grams fiber, 9 grams fat (1 gram saturated), no cholesterol, 385 milligrams sodium.
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