Black Bean Fritters

Ingredients

• 1 red bell pepper, in small dice
• 1 yellow bell pepper, in small dice
• 1 small zucchini, in small dice
• 2 cups cooked black beans (freshly prepared are best, but canned are fine)
• 1 cup flour
• 1 cup cornmeal
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper, to taste
• vegetable oil or peanut oil, for frying

Directions

1. 1

   In a large bowl, combine the bell peppers, zucchini, and black beans.

2. 2

   In another bowl, combine the flour, corn meal, baking powder, and brown sugar, and mix well.

3. 3

   Add the dry ingredients to the vegetables in the large bowl, and fold until well coated (careful not to crush the black beans).

4. 4

   Add the buttermilk, eggs, salt, and pepper, and stir together until the batter forms - it should resemble very thick pancake batter; if the batter is too thick, you can add buttermilk then an egg until the correct consistency is achieved.

5. 5

   In a large deep pan or deep fryer, heat the oil to 350 degrees F and drop a spoonful of batter into the hot oil; fry until golden brown then remove, drain, let cool a bit and then taste it to see if the seasonings are to your liking - adjust seasoning if necessary.

6. 6

   Drop completed batter by large spoonfuls into the hot oil and fry fritters until golden brown, about 3 minutes on each side, and they're slightly puffed and cooked through.

7. 7

   Drain well, serve, and enjoy!

8. 8

   These go well with a nice green chile sauce and/or sour cream.

9. 9

   I've also eaten these quite happily for breakfast!

10. 10

    Note: black soybeans can be used in place of the regular black beans, too. Also, please be advised that these are a *fried* food, and therefore need to be drained well! As with all fried foods, the different oils used for frying can change the outcome. I personally use peanut oil because it has a higher temperature point. Draindraindrain (and perhaps dab with paper towels) if you don't want your fritters to get greasy - if drained properly, they'll be perfect. :).

11. 11

    These fritters come highly recommended by family, friends, and the professional chef who created them. :).