Koose black-eyed bean fritters with scotch bonnet salsa

By: Zoe Adjonyoh

Published: 2 Nov 18
Updated: 18 Mar 24

Test kitchen approved

”These delicious vegan bean fritters are also known as akara and are commonly eaten as a snack or breakfast food. Black-eyed beans are blended with spices, formed into patties and deep-fried until golden. I’ve added texture with sliced okra and red serrano chillies, but you can swap for green bell peppers and omit the chillies if you don’t like heat. They make a fantastic canapé or party snack, too.” – Zoe Adjonyoh

You can listen to Zoe make these fritters in our ‘how to cook like… podcast‘.

Serves 4-6
Hands-on time 1 hour

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Ingredients

250g dried black-eyed beans
1 tbsp cornflour, plus extra to dust (see Zoe’s tip)
2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp sea salt
1 tbsp rapeseed oil
½ red onion, very finely chopped
2 fresh red chillies, very finely sliced
4 fingers fresh okra, very finely chopped
500ml vegetable oil to deep fry

For the scotch bonnet salsa

500g mixed heritage tomatoes, thinly sliced or quartered if small
1 medium red onion, finely chopped
1 scotch bonnet chilli, deseeded and finely diced
Handful fresh coriander, chopped
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
Juice 1 lemon, plus extra slices to garnish

Good to have…

Digital probe thermometer

Method

If using dried beans, bring a pan of lightly salted water to the boil and cook the beans for 3 minutes, then remove from the heat and leave for 60-90 minutes. Drain and cool.
Once cool, gently mash the beans to break them up (don’t over-mash). Add the cornflour, cayenne, sea salt and rapeseed oil, then mix gently. Mix in the red onion, then the chillies. Mix in the okra last to help retain its crunchy texture. Once everything is mixed together, shape into quenelles or small plum-size balls and chill for at least 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, mix together all the ingredients for the salsa and season to taste with salt and black pepper.
Heat the vegetable oil in a large, heavy-based saucepan (don’t fill more than halfway) to 160°C on a digital probe thermometer. (If you don’t have one, a small cube of bread will brown in 30-40 seconds when the temperature is reached.)
Deep-fry the fritters, in batches, for about 4-5 minutes until golden brown, then drain on kitchen paper. Serve with the scotch bonnet salsa and garnish with a dollop of avocado mayo, if you like (see food team’s tip).

Recipe from September 2018 Issue

Nutrition

Nutrition: per serving

For 6

Calories: 269kcals
Fat: 10.4g (0.9g saturated)
Protein: 11.1g
Carbohydrates: 29.6g (5.9g sugars)
Fibre: 6.5g
Salt: 0.9g

delicious. tips

To make avocado mayo, whizz ½ ripe avocado with 4 tbsp good quality mayo and the grated zest of ½ lime.

You can use tinned beans for this, but I find they’re a little too soft to get the texture I like. If you’re in the mood for a fast recipe, though, go with tinned, and
if the mixture feels a bit wet, dust with a bit of cornflour.
Shape the fritters, then cover and chill for up to 2 hours before frying.

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Koose black-eyed bean fritters with scotch bonnet salsa

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