Title: Black Bean Cake
Categories: Entree Bean Poultry
Yield: 4 Cakes

1	tb	Ancho Chile Powder
1	tb	Ground Cumin
1	sm	Hot Green Chile; stemmed, seeded and finely chopped
1/2	c	Cilantro Leaves; coarsely chopped
3/4	ts	Salt
1/2	c	Sour Cream
1	tb	Milk
1/4	c	Rendered Duck Fat; Lard or Olive Oil
1/4	c	Salsa
24		Sprigs Cilantro; washed and spun dry
COOKED BLACK BEANS
1/2	lb	Black Turtle Beans
1/2		Onion; chopped
1/2		Carrot; peeled and chopped
1	sm	Stalk Celery; chopped
3		Cloves Garlic
1/2	ts	Thyme
1		Bay Leaf
1		Ham Bone
1 1/2	qt	Chicken Stock

Rinse and sort the beans. Soak overnight in cold water; drain. Put bans in a large heavy pot, add the onion, carrot, celery, garlic, thyme, bay leaf, ham bone and chicken stock. Bring to a boil and skim off any scum that rises to the surface. Simmer slowly, loosely covered, until the beans are tender, about 2 hours. Add more stock if the level falls below the surface of the beans, and stir often to prevent sticking and to ensure that the beans cook evenly.

Let drain for about 2 hours. Don't worry if they look terrible after sitting that long. (Save the drained liquid for soup.) Put the drained beans through a meat grinder or food mill, then mix to a paste with the chile powder, cumin, fresh chile, cilantro leaves and salt. Roll the paste into 4 equal balls. Put each ball between 2 pieces of waxed paper and press them into rounds 1/8" thick with the palm of your hand. Set aside.

Whisk the sour cream with the milk until smooth. Heat the duck fat in a crepe or nonstick pan or on a griddle. When the pan is hot, put in the cakes and cook 2 minutes on each side. Put the cakes on warm plates and spoon the sour cream on the center of each cake. Spoon the salsa on the sour cream. Garnish the plates with the cilantro sprigs.

Per Cake: 365 calories, 16 g protein, 39 g carbohydrate, 17 g fat, 7 g saturated fat, 23 mg cholesterol, 443 mg sodium, 12 g fiber.

Source:San Francisco Chronicle Posted by Katherine Smith Kook-Net: The Shadow Zone IV - Stinson Beach, CA

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