Black-eyed bean cakes with crab & chorizo

Instructions

1. 1

   Put all the ingredients for the cakes, apart from the olive oil, in a food processor. Add plenty of freshly ground black pepper and whizz until smooth, scraping down the sides as needed. Line a baking tray with baking parchment. Use spoons to divide the mixture into 16 portions (about 25g each). Grease your hands with about 1 tbsp olive oil and form each portion into a 5cm-wide patty, arranging them on the lined tray as you go. The mixture will be quite soft and delicate, but don’t worry – they’ll firm up once fried.

2. 2

   For the salsa, remove and discard the skin from the chorizo, then finely chop. Tip into a medium frying pan and set over a low heat. Fry for 4-5 minutes until crisp and browned. Tip into a large bowl, along with the oil it releases. Give the chopped tomatoes a good squeeze with your hands or push through a sieve to remove (and discard) the excess liquid, then add them to the bowl with the chorizo, along with the crab, lime juice, Tabasco sauce and chillies.

3. 3

   Return the frying pan to a medium heat and brush with a little oil. Working in batches, put the cakes in the pan, spaced apart, and fry for 2 minutes on each side or until golden brown, brushing the pan with more oil as needed. Be gentle when turning them as they’ll be delicate. Transfer to a platter and top each with a spoonful of the salsa and the extra sliced green Thai chillies. Serve with lime wedges to squeeze over.