Cuban Black Bean Patties with Pineapple Rice

This recipe is from myrecipes.com. I was looking for a way to use beans as a main dish, having them as the focus rather than as an afterthought. I found this yummy concoction and tried it, with a few alterations as per what I had on hand.

Pineapple Rice

• 1 (3 1/2-ounce) bag boil-in-bag long-grain rice (I had about 2 c leftover cooked rice I used)
• 2 teaspoons butter 
• 1 cup diced fresh pineapple (I had some canned)
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro (I used a dash of coriander and parsley)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt 

To prepare rice, cook rice according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain; place rice in a large bowl. Melt butter in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add pineapple; sauté 4 minutes or just until pineapple begins to brown. Add pineapple mixture, cilantro, and 1/4 teaspoon salt to rice in bowl; cover and keep warm.

• Patties:
• 2 cups rinsed, drained canned black beans (1 [15-ounce] can), divided (it has been suggested to use 2 cans instead, and that worked well for us)
• 1/2 teaspoon bottled minced garlic
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 large egg white (I used a whole egg)
• 1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded Monterey Jack cheese with jalapeño peppers (cheddar here, I did add some chili powder to a few of them and they turned out really nicely)
• 1/4 cup chopped red onion
• 1/4 cup cornmeal
• Cooking spray
• 1/4 cup reduced-fat sour cream (didn't have any on hand, but it was very good without)

To prepare patties, place 1 1/2 cups beans, garlic, cumin, and 1/8 teaspoon salt in a bowl; partially mash with a fork. Place 1/2 cup remaining beans and egg white in a food processor; process 30 seconds or until well combined. Add bean puree to mashed beans in bowl, and stir until combined. Add cheese and onion to bean mixture; stir until combined. Divide bean mixture into 4 equal portions, shaping each into a 1/2-inch-thick patty. Place cornmeal in a shallow dish. Dredge both sides of each patty in cornmeal.
Heat pan over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add patties; cook 3 minutes on each side or until browned. Spoon about 1/2 cup rice onto each of 4 plates; top each serving with 1 patty and 1 tablespoon sour cream.

Note: You can prepare the patties in advance up to the point of dredging them in cornmeal; cover and refrigerate. Purchase precut, fresh pineapple in the produce section to save time.

Highly recommended, we LOVED it! Even the kids ate it (it took some talking to get them to taste it in the first place tho since it looked different than what we normally eat)