Black Bean Cakes with Guacamole, Salsa, and Fried Shallots

I love a good cocktail party, of course, for the cocktails themselves but maybe even more for the little servings of food that go so well with a drink. Cocktail party food is always fun food, and that certainly applies to the offerings you’ll find in Mary Guiliani’s new book The Cocktail Party. I received a review copy. She shares stories from her years of catering along with ideas for parties for every season of the year and every time of day. I caught the episode of Barefoot Contessa when she showed Ina how to make her mini grilled cheese sandwiches which is one of her signature party menu items. After cooking, the sandwiches are cut into cute, bite-size, tiny triangles. There are several versions found throughout the book for different themes. The Mini Buffalo Chicken Grilled Cheese and the Mini Sausage and Egg Grilled Cheese were two of my favorite ideas. Another one of her popular menu items is pigs in a blanket, and there are multiple versions of it as well. I need to find a good chicken or seafood version of a mini sausage to try wrapped in puff pastry. The book is organized by party theme, and there are menus and planning ideas for each of them. In addition to a basic party menu, there are also suggested “Snacktivities” for each party, and these are actually buffet options for guests to build their own snacks. I loved the idea of a Mozzarella Bar with fresh ricotta, burrata, and mozzarella along with breads, and toppings like eggplant caponata, roasted peppers, roasted tomatoes, and olive tapenade. Some other party dishes and tips that caught my eye were Mini Banana Pancakes with chocolate chips for a breakfast party; the bottles of tequila hanging on strings from a tree branch for a tasting event; the deviled egg bar with various spices and toppings for sprinkling on top; and the big bowl of Buddha Punch made with wine, champagne, orange juice, lemon juice, rum, and club soda. In some cases, the photos are styled a little differently than the recipes or ideas are described in the text, but that leads you to more ideas for making your party your own. Also, there are suggestions for which items can be purchased rather than made from scratch to let you decide how much time to spend on each part of an event. The first dish I tried was the mini Black Bean Cakes from the Cinco de Mayo party theme. 

These are little, crispy, vegetarian cakes that can be formed in advanced and cooked just before serving. Optionally, they could be cooked in advance as well and reheated in the oven before serving. The cakes are made by pureeing rinsed and drained black beans in a food processor with salsa, cumin, and coriander. That mixture was transferred to a mixing bowl, and panko breadcrumbs, finely chopped green onions, cilantro, and salt were added. You should consider the texture at this point. The salsa I used was a bit runny, so I added some extra breadcrumbs to bring the mixture together better. Next, a baking sheet was lined with parchment, and little cakes were formed by using a mini ice cream scoop. I flattened out the cakes by hand. The sheet of black bean cakes should be refrigerated for about 30 minutes before cooking to firm them up a bit. They were cooked in olive oil in a big skillet for a few minutes per side. I made some guacamole for topping, and I opted to fry shallot rings rather than garnish with store-bought fried onions. 

At this size, each bean cake worked perfectly as one bite which is just what you want when you have a cocktail in one hand. In the head note in the book, it’s pointed out that these bean cakes would also be great as vegan sliders on mini buns. With all the great ideas I’ve just learned here, I need to get to work on a guest list and pick some dates for parties. 

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Watermelon Curry on Black Lentil Cakes

Prior to making this, I’d only had watermelon curry once before. A couple of years ago, I had the opportunity to observe as Chef Todd Duplechan showed me how to prepare a dish of poached shrimp with watermelon curry. I remember his version was spicy and barely sweet, layered with complex flavors, and it paired perfectly with the shrimp poached in flavored oil. When I found this simpler dish of vegetarian black lentil cakes with the striking, bright, red watermelon curry in New Vegetarian Kitchen, I had to try it while local watermelons are available. The curry is built on a base of ginger and garlic that’s cooked along with cumin, fenugreek, and chiles. Pureed watermelon is used in addition to some small watermelon chunks for a mix of textures. It thickens as it cooks, and the savory spices balance the sweet fruit. The black lentil cakes bring plenty of flavor to the dish as well. They’re a mix of cooked and mashed lentils with sauteed onion and garlic seasoned with cumin seeds, garam masala, coriander, and ground dried chiles. After shaping the cakes and tasting for seasoning, I knew they were going to be good. Likewise, while tasting the watermelon curry as it simmered, it was very good as well. But, when they came together, the crispy, browned lentil cakes topped with the watermelon curry were better than good and even better than I expected. 

You can approach this dish in two parts. The black lentil cakes can be made in advance and stored in the refrigerator until you’re ready to brown them just before serving. The black lentils were cooked until tender which was about 40 minutes. They were then drained and transferred to a large mixing bowl in which they were mashed with a potato masher. Finely chopped onion was sauteed in a large skillet for a few minutes before garlic was added followed by cumin seeds, garam masala, ground coriander, and I added some cayenne powder. The onion and spice mixture was added to the mashed lentils along with some flour and salt and pepper. The recipe in the book suggests rather large bean cakes, but I divided the mixture into smaller portions. Each bean cake was coated with more flour, placed on a parchment-lined baking sheet, and the sheet pan was refrigerated until it was time to cook. For the curry, fresh ginger and garlic were pureed in a food processor to form a paste. The paste was cooked in a skillet with vegetable oil for about a minute before cumin seeds and fenugreek seeds were added. Finely chopped fresh red chile was added next. Starting with a five pound watermelon, half of it was pureed, and the other half was chopped into small chunks. The pureed watermelon was added to the ginger and garlic mixture, brought to a boil, and allowed to simmer and reduce for about ten minutes. It thickens surprisingly well. As the sauce reduced, the lentil cakes were cooked in oil in a skillet for about three minutes per side until browned and crisp. Just before serving, lime juice and the watermelon chunks were added to the curry, and it was spooned over the cooked lentil cakes. 

As I mentioned, the result here is more than the sum of its parts. The cakes are crispy on the surface and tender in the middle while the sauce is a combination of smooth puree and chunkiness. Fruity sweetness, spicy earthiness, and some subtle fenugreek bitterness work together delightfully. Grab a watermelon before the season ends and try it in a savory dish like this.

I am a member of the Amazon Affiliate Program.

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