Black Bean Fritter and Scrambled Eggs

We're making a black bean fritter with avocado, scrambled local eggs, Vermont cheddar and roasted tomato salsa.

INGREDIENTS:

Black Bean Fritters:
one 15 oz. can of black beans
2 Tbsp all purpose flour
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp ground cumin
salt to taste Yield = 4 x 4 oz fritters

Roasted Tomato Salsa:
1 good sized tomato (about ½ lb)
½ cup roughly chopped sweet onion
½ cup roughly chopped red pepper
½ a small jalapeno
4 cloves of garlic
1 Tbsp of canola oil
½ tsp salt
2 Tbsp chopped cilantro
juice of one lime
salt to taste

1 cup shredded Extra Sharp Vermont Cheddar
2 ripe avocados
8 local eggs scrambled

STEPS:
Roasted Tomato Salsa:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Roughly chop tomato and toss with red pepper, jalapeno, onion, garlic, canola oil and salt.

Spread out on a sheet pan or cookie sheet and bake for 30 minutes or until the edges of the vegetables are crispy and caramelized.

Transfer vegetables to a food processor and pulse a few times to get a nice chunky salsa.

Transfer to a small mixing bowl and add chopped cilantro, lime and salt to taste.

Allow salsa to cool before using.

Black Bean Fritters:
Drain and rinse black beans.
In a medium sized mixing bowl mash the beans with the remaining ingredients using your hands.
Work the mixture until it’s about half mashed beans and half whole beans.
Form into 4 patties and set aside.

To cook fritters:
Heat up 2 Tbsp of canola oil in a nonstick pan large enough to fit all four fritters over medium high heat.

When oil is hot but not smoking carefully place all four fritters in the pan.

Fry until crispy on both sides (about 2-3 minutes per side)
Set aside on a small sheet pan.

Final Assembly:

Turn on your oven’s broiler.
Top each fritter with ½ an avocado sliced, scrambled eggs and a ¼ cup of Vermont cheddar.

Place under the broiler until cheese is melted and beginning to brown (should only take a minute or two).

Transfer each fritter to a plate and top with a heaping spoonful of salsa!