Spicy baked blackeye bean b*lls!
Blackeye beans are underrated. You can use them for many different types of dishes. From curries, salads and bakes and it's this last category that I want to share a recipe for.
The baked blackeye bean balls are very easy to make. You can use tinned or dry beans. I prefer using dried beans, they don't take long to make. Soak the dried beans in water for about an hour or so and they are ready to cook. Use a pressure cooker or a heavy pan with lots of water. Advantages of using dried beans are:
- Very cheap to buy
- Reduced packaging
- Make what you need at anytime
Ingredients
- 1 cup of dried blackeye beans or about two/three tins
- 1 onion chopped
- 1/2 a bunch of coriander or flat leaf parsley chopped
- A handful of mint choped
- 1 clove of garlic minced
- 2 heaped tsp of ground cumin—you can use coriander
- Cayenne to taste—optional
- Splash of apple cider vinegar
- Splash of olive oil
- Seasoning—salt and pepper to taste
Method
- In a large bowl mix all the ingredients except the blackeye beans
- Add the cooked blackeye beans and begin to mix with your hands. Squashing the beans gently as you fold the mixture. Continue until everything is well incorporated together.
- Taste the mixture and add, cumin, cayenne, seasoning if needed and mix well again.
- Form golf ball sized balls of the mixture and place on a baking sheet.
- Bake in a preheated oven at 180ºC 350ºF Gas Mark 4 for about 20 to 30 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool. The balls will still be soft—do not handle them until they have cooled a little.
You can eat them with a salad, in a wrap, as part of a meal, as a snack. They can be eaten warm or cold and will keep for several days.
