When it comes to food, there are few things I love more than 1) making a great dish with leftover ingredients, and 2) Mexican food. Tonight was a beautiful combination of both. Last night was taco night at my house and as usual I made too much food. The bounty of our fiesta left me with some extra ground beef, corn, salsa, and black beans. I had originally thought I would whip up a taco salad for dinner tonight since I knew I was eating solo, but while sitting at my desk today, it occurred to me that taco salad is boring and required no challenge to my culinary mind! And so my foodie friends, the inspiration for taco cakes was born!
You may be wondering what the heck is a taco cake? It couldn’t be ingredients to make tacos fried in a pan in the shape of mini cakes could it? Why yes, yes it is. People eat crab cakes all the time, what could be bad about Mexican flavors and beef instead of crab!? This is a perfect recipe for using up whatever you have lying around, the ingredients I list below are what I had on hand, but feel free to let your imagination (and pantry) run wild!
T’s Taco Cakes
Perfect in mini version as an appetizer or larger for a main course, top with salsa and sour cream and you’ve got a fiesta in your mouth!
Makes 6 medium cakes or 10 mini cakes, adjust your leftover ingredients accordingly.
Ingredients
- 1/2 can black beans, drained
- 1/2 cup lean ground beef cooked with taco seasoning
- 1/4 cup cooked corn kernels
- 1/4 cup diced sauteed red pepper
- 1 garlic clove, diced
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tbsp fresh chopped chives
- 1/4 cup salsa
- 1/2 egg, whisked
- 2 tbsp cornmeal, plus 1 cup reserved for coating
- Cooking oil
In a medium sized bowl add black beans and coarsely mash with a fork. Add in remaining ingredients (except oil and cornmeal coating) and mix well. Pour cornmeal onto a plate and season with salt and pepper. Depending on the desired size, roll portions of the mixture into a ball in your hands and flatten like a cake. Coat in the cornmeal coating.
Heat 3 tablespoons of cooking oil (I used canola) in a skillet over medium heat and when a drop of cornmeal sizzles, your pan is at temperature. Fry the cakes in the hot oil in batches so as not to crowd the pan. They should take about 5 minutes per side. Remove and place on a plate coated with a paper towel. Top with whatever toppings you desire and enjoy!
Tara O'Keeffe