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SERVES:
Makes about 36

INGREDIENTS:

• 1/2 cup quick cooking oats, cooked in 1 cup water


• 2 15-ounce cans black beans


• 2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced


• 1 small, or 1/2 large jalapeno pepper, deseeded and finely diced


• 1/3 cup small diced white onion


• 1/3 cup small diced red pepper


• 1 heaping tsp ground cumin


• 1/2 cup dried breadcrumbs


• Vegetable oil for sauteing


• 1 cup cilantro leaves and stems


• 1/2 cup sour cream

PROCEDURE:

Plan ahead and cook 1/2 cup quick cooking oats in 1 cup of water and let it cool down a bit.

Also finely mince 2 cloves of garlic, deseed and finely chop half of a jalapeno pepper and finely dice about 1/3 cup each white onion and red pepper.

Saute those veggies in a little vegetable oil until they start to soften up a bit and then turn the heat off.

While you're doing that you can drain 2 15-ounce cans of black beans and strain the liquid out of them but don't rinse.

Use a large mixing bowl to combine the cooked oatmeal and cooled cooked veggies and the 2 cans of black beans with a heaping tsp of ground cumin, 1/2 cup dried breadcrumbs and use a potato masher to mash everything up.

Then make a circle with your finger and thumb, scoop up some of the mixture and fill that space, between your finger and thumb, so that you end up with a flat sided bean patty.

This will make just about 3 dozen cakes and, at some point you'll need to use a food processor or blender to puree about 1 cup of cilantro leaves with 1/2 cup sour cream.

Saute the cakes in a little vegetable oil, in a nonstick pan on medium high heat, until they're crisped up on both sides and hot all the way through.

Serve the cakes nice and warm, or even room temperature, with a dollop of the cilantro sour cream right on top.

HINTS:

Finish with an individual cilantro leaf garnish on top of each appetizer for more visual appeal. Use this same recipe to make larger black bean burgers and serve them up on a bun with lettuce, salsa etc.