Spicy beetroot & black bean fritters two ways
on Jun 06, 2014, Updated Aug 22, 2022
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There is a chance, after reading this post, that you will never believe anything you read here again.
‘Why ever not?’ I hear you gasp. Well, you may remember this post, when I told you all about how Mr. Scrummy and I are settling down in England now. How I’m looking forward to reconnecting with family and friends, not being a ‘foreigner’ anymore and, most of all, having my own kitchen to run backwards and forwards in with pots and pans and make as much mess as I like.
Well hold the phone because we’re flying to Australia for a few more months on Sunday. Oh-oh. The country walks and polite conversations about the weather and roaring fires in pubs will have to wait for yet a little while longer. OK, maybe I would have had to wait a few more months for the roaring fires, anyway.
So a few weeks ago we spent a week here hunting for a home to rent. We settled on a lovely apartment with a little balcony and a great view of Nottinghamshire from almost the highest point in the county and were just about to put down our deposit when a little voice (aka Mr. Scrummy) started to doubt whether the time was quite right (from the point of view of his business, mainly). I’ve well and truly got my head around the idea now, but at first my heart immediately sank. Right down to about the level of my feet, I’d say. Take heed all you single readers out there: this is what you get when you marry an Australian (wouldn’t change it for the world, though, of course).
So I guess the point to take from all this is that life is an adventure. It’s uncertain. You have to be willing to adapt with the winds of change and see the opportunities rather than the disappointments. Hmm. Well, this is what I’m trying to tell myself, anyhow. I’ve been trying to picture myself and Mr. Scrummy with a big smile on our faces jogging around that beautiful river 9,000 miles away in Perth, scoffing our potato wedges with sour cream and sweet chili sauce afterwards then meeting up with our friends and family. And for the most part it’s working. Especially after I saw this:
Weather forecast for Perth, Australia
Weather forecast for Nottingham, England
Hmm. Anyone else think the Perth winter looks suspiciously like an English summer? Except possibly a bit warmer. Scary.
My point about ‘adapting and seeing opportunities’ was drummed home again, in a sense, while testing out these beetroot and black bean fritters. They were a bit of a labour of love, which you may remember me alluding to in my last post. My first attempt flopped, not spectacularly, but into a bit of a bore, quite frankly. So for my next attempt I made a few changes and … bingo! The fritters were somehow crunchy, sweet, textured, zingy & generally flavoursome all at the same time. The crunch came from the onion and grated beetroot on the fried edges, the zingy-ness from the chili of course, the sweetness was, I’m guessing, also from the beetroot and then there was the softer, slightly-chewy-around-the-edges black bean element as well. Delicious! From the moment I took my first ‘test’ bite, I knew that these ‘destined-to-be-burgers’ little patties could easily ‘graduate’ to become ‘fritters’ as well. Not only because it seemed a shame to hide that beautiful crispy sweet bite away in a big bready burger bun, but also because I thought ‘spicy beetroot & black bean fritters two ways’ sounded better as a post title than just plain old beetroot & black bean burger.
I think that there are a couple of keys to making these burgers/fritters a success. The first is to find some nice fresh raw beetroot and cook it yourself. Which at first I thought would be a pain. A messy pain. But actually, it wasn’t so bad. All you have to do is chop off the beetroot leaves and boil them whole for about 15 minutes or until tender. You then let them cool and peel off the skins as best you can and grate them coarsely.
And guess who impatiently peeled and grated their beetroot while they were still far too hot so not only were the skins more difficult to peel off but they burnt their fingers a little, too? They also didn’t wear any plastic gloves, so yes, they did end up with purple hands. Don’t worry, though, they are not going to be flying to Australia with purple hands – they washed clean pretty easily!
Anyway, once you’ve got your grated beetroot, you squeeze it out into the sink a handful at a time to get most of the moisture out of it (hello even more purply hands). This squeezed-out beetroot goes into a big bowl with some black beans, chopped onion, cumin and coriander, basil, lemon zest, worcestershire sauce, an egg and a little flour, then you’re ready to fry up your fritters!
Don’t try to shape this mixture in your hands. I found that the best way to do this was to drop tablespoons of the mixture into a thin layer of hot oil and flatten them slightly with the back of the spoon as they start sizzling away.
As you can see from my photos, the first time we ate these fritters (as burgers – is this getting a bit confusing?), I served them in a wholemeal burger bun with lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, and a big spoonful of sour cream. Big piggies that we are, we then ate a little more of the mixture as slightly smaller fritters, dipped into sour cream, as so:
The next day, as there were still some leftovers (honestly, they seem to just go on and on …) I fried some more little fritters up and served them alongside some curry, which worked surprisingly well. The fritters tasted almost like slightly sweeter onion bhajis eaten in this way. Maybe I should have called this post spicy beetroot & black bean fritters three ways!
So I guess the moral of this recipe is that I adapted my ‘plans’ for it as I went along and it turned out great in the end. Likewise, I might be having to wait a little while longer to get settled in my home country, but maybe the end story will turn out better this way. For the moment, I just have to go with the flow. But however you look at it, I reckon I don’t really have any grounds to complain.
Spicy beetroot & black bean fritters two ways
Ingredients
- 9 ounces raw beetroot, I used 2 small/medium-sized ones
- 14 ounces cooked black beans, about 1 can, drained
- 1 small to medium onion, chopped
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
- grated zest of half a lemon
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 red or green chilli, finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce
- 1/4 teaspoon each of salt & black pepper
- 1 small egg
- 2 tablespoons flour, normal or gluten free
- oil for cooking, enough to cover the bottom of a wide skillet/frying pan
- burger buns, lettuce, cheese, tomato & sour cream to serve (or just sour cream & perhaps salad leaves if you’re serving as smaller fritters)
Instructions
- Chop the leaves off the beetroot, then boil the beets for about 15 minutes or until tender. Drain and leave to cool, then peel and grate coarsely. Squeeze out as much of the water as you can by grabbing handfuls and squeezing over the sink. Put the squeezed-out beetroot in a large bowl.
- Add all of the other ingredients to the bowl and mix well.
- Pour a good layer of oil into a wide skillet/frying pan and heat it up until it starts to simmer. Then drop heaped tablespoons (for burgers) or heaped teaspoons (for smaller fritters) of mixture into the pan and flatten slightly with the back of the spoon. Cook them for a few minutes on each side until crispy and cooked through.
- Serve in a toasted burger bun with lettuce, tomato & sour cream or as fritters with sour cream for dipping.
Notes
Nutrition
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I had to re-read this a couple of times! Wow. Such a huge change indeed. Both places sound fabulous to me, but I’m not the one living there. Life is full of curve balls and fickleness which I’m never too good at dealing with! You sound very calm about this whole thing! Also, just remember that you have blogging pals that are with you no matter where you are in the world! 🙂 Too cheesy? lol
These burgerfritters look AMAZING! They look like a latke burger, which sounds like my cup of tea. Yum! Love beets and beans and that beautiful colour.
Ha! Burgerfritters … why didn’t I think of that?! Hmmm … am I calm about this ‘curveball’? Perhaps just resigned. There are many good things about going to Perth again but in all honesty I was all ready to set up shop here and that would be my first choice. And, cheesy or not, it is great to have blogging pals all over the world … doesn’t really matter where I am to keep in touch with all of you!
Helen, I can imagine it would be a bit rough to move to Australia when you had your heart set on England. But you seem to adapt very well and I’m sure you will make the best of it. And also come up with some delicious recipes, too! I’m anxious to see what Australia has to offer! These fritters look so tasty and perfect for the summer!
Thanks so much for the lovely words, Gayle. I’m certainly learning to adapt! Also, you’re right that it’s a perfect opportunity to explore the food scene ‘down under’ – I realised last time I was there that Asian food is a big thing in Australia and the ingredients are pretty easy to get, so that’s something to look forward to for a start! So glad you like the fritters – summery indeed!
And I thought our moving process was a bit hectic… nope, you win. You totally 100% win! Phew, well I hope there are bright things ahead for you in Australia these next few months, and keep pumping out these wildly creative recipes! These fritters look beautiful!
Ha, yes I guess I do win. Can’t really argue with that! At least I win in miles travelled! 😉
‘Wildly creative’, huh? Hey, thanks! So glad you like the fritters and … hope your moving is going smoothly!
Those sound delicious! I love beets but I’ve never tried them in burgers. Will have to do so sometime this summer! 🙂
Please do try it some time! It’s reeeallly good. So long as you get the frying right and they end up nice and crispy. 🙂
Once again, you stun with the combination of unique flavors. You got the onion, basil, zest of a lemon, black beans, so far so good, but then you add, [stunned here] grated beet root! This is a new ingredient for me, never worked with it before and wouldn’t unless some creative person like yourself shows me how to use it!!!
And this recipe is so timely for my family specifically. My husband came home with 20 cans of organic black beans yesterday (I guess there was a big sale!) I don’t dare complain because I don’t want to discourage him from doing the shopping.
Congrats…is that the right word…on your travels to Australia, staying with your MIL, too cute. I bet she’ll love having you there cooking for her all your unique recipes.
Actually, my MIL does really enjoy all the recipes. At least she is a pretty good sport about trying them – both the good and not so good. Laura, your comment is so sweet! Thank you so much for the encouragement. I hope this recipe doesn’t disappoint if you do try it. I don’t think so, though – you need to use up those beans somehow, after all! 🙂
Australia sounds wonderful! I visited many, many years ago and loved it, but I said the same about London, didn’t I? It truly does sound like an adventure, and I wish you the best! Beets truly are a labor of love, but they’re so worth it. I love the combination that you came up with here — I would’ve never thought to pair them with black beans. This sounds just delicious, Helen! Pinning. 🙂
So glad you like this idea, Marcie. I actually got the idea to mix beets with black beans at a restaurant in a mall, of all places, a couple of weeks back, and just took it from there. Thanks so so much for the good wishes and, of course, thanks for the pin!
Love, love your stories and recipes too! One blog I look forward to all the time and take time to really read it, and with such enjoyment. Being American and living in Europe for many years, I love stories from out of our own USA. THANKS!
Hello, Joyce! Wow, you have truly made my evening with this comment! I often write having absolutely no idea whether anyone is remotely interested in a word of it, but you have encouraged me that at least some people are (other than other food bloggers of course who I have to say are an extremely supportive bunch!) I love reading about people’s lives in other countries, too! I’m so so happy that you’re enjoying the blog and hope that you will continue to do so. Have a wonderful weekend!
P.S. Which countries did you live in in Europe?
I’ll take Australia or England! 🙂 But I can understand how hard it would be once you’ve got your mind/heart set on one thing for it to suddenly shift again – best of luck in the upcoming months!
These Beetroot Black Bean fritters look amazing! I love the idea of eating them on a bun! Yum!
Thanks so much for the good wishes, Kaylee. We’ll be fine. Definitely a first world ‘problem’ I’m talking about. 😉 So glad you like the fritters!
C’est incroyable! Je ne pouvais pas le croire. Tu viens de t’installer et voila parti à nouveau pour l’aventure! Bon, l’unique chose que je peux te dire c’est que tu pourra continuer à blogger de las bas et nous on sera par la. C’est un maigre consolation que je viens te donner! Je crois que tu fais très bien de le prend de bon côte, la vie c’est une aventure et finalement tu as la chance de t’immerger à nouveau dans une nouvelle culture. C’est tellement enrichissent ! Pense à tous les recettes nouvelles que tu vas a découvrir et que tu nous feras découvrir de coup!
Ta recette est top! Très original, j’aime beaucoup!
Je te souhaite un très bon voyage et des très belles aventures 😉
Eva, tu es trop gentille! Moi aussi je ne pouvais pas le croire quand on allais louer l’apartement que nous avons trouve et puis … tout a change dans un instant. Tu as raison qu’au moins je pourrai continuer a blogger par la et que, d’un certain cote, tous mes amis ‘blogging’ seront la aussi! Merci beaucoup pour les bons voeux! 🙂
Oh my goodness, Helen, if anything, I am even more excited to come and read your posts now! Wow, life truly is an adventure for you right now. Australia, eh? More foodie travels … and I guess more house hunting. 😉
I so enjoy veggie fritters and the bean addition adds body and health benefits! These look delicious!
Well, actually no house hunting because we will be staying with Mr. Scrummy’s mum who very graciously loves having us to stay there. It is indeed an adventure we have ahead of us – just got to keep trying to see it that way! 😉 So happy you like the fritters – you’re right, pretty healthy!