Qunioa Cakes

I have been wanting to make these for awhile.

I spotted them on other food blogs and each one was different and looked delicious.

The recipe comes from the beautiful cookbook - Super Natural Everyday by Heidi Swanson, this is the second recipe I have tried since picking up this book a few months ago. The first one, a rice and mushroom casserole, didn't turn out the way I was imagining but these Quinoa Cakes, are better than I thought they would be.

A true test to them being as delicious as everyone says - my fiance had second helpings! Second helpings of something that has no meat! I struck meatless-meal gold with this recipe!

The recipe is easily adaptable to whatever fillings you'd like to add - mushrooms, peppers, olives, asparagus - the list could go on and on. Choose whatever you like or have on hand. The following is the basic recipe from her cookbook but with broccoli and parsley added in.

Quinoa Cakes

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups cooked Quinoa at room temperature (Bring 2 cups water to a boil, add in 1 cup quinoa, bring bake to a boil then reduce heat to medium and cover for 15-20 minutes)
4 large eggs beaten
1/2 tsp fine salt
1/3 cup chopped fresh chives
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 yellow onion finely chopped
1/2 cup finely chopped broccoli
1/3 cups fresh Parmesan (or Gruyere cheese)
3 cloves finely chopped garlic
1 cup whole grain bread crumbs (more if needed)
Water, if needed
1 tbsp olive oil

Method

Combine the quinoa, eggs and salt in a medium size bowl. Add chives, onion, parsley, broccoli, cheese and garlic to the quinoa mixture, stir to combine. Add in the bread crumbs, stir and let sit for a few minutes so crumbs can absorb some of the moisture.

You should be able to easily form mixture into patties, if it's too moist, add a little bit more bread crumbs, if it's too dry add a little water. You want the mixture to be a little more wet then dry so the patties aren't dry once cooked.

Form mixture into twelve 1 inch thick patties.

Heat the oil in a large, heavy skillet on medium-low. Add in six patties leaving a little room to be able to flip them easily later. Cover and cook for 7 to 10 minutes, until the bottoms are deeply browned. Flip and cook for an additional 7 minutes or until golden brown. Remove and add additional six patties.
Alternatively, the quinoa mixture can be kept in the refrigerator for a few days and made to order.

I served these with a few dashes of hot sauce on top, alongside sauteed zucchini.

Ryan and I experimented with various condiments. We liked hot sauce, BBQ sauce, grainy mustard and ketchup the most.

I cooked them all at once and had leftovers for lunch, best way to reheat is to pop them in the oven or toaster oven until heated through.





Enjoy!