These little quinoa cakes are adapted from Heidi Swanson’s Super Natural Everyday and they never disappoint. If you haven’t read or purchased Heidi’s book I highly recommend it. It’s full of recipes that utilize whole foods in a new and fresh light. Heidi’s blog 101 Cookbooks is one of my favorite blogs, she take the most beautiful photographs and everything she does is stunning in it’s simplicity and originality.
This is one of my favorite recipes from the book. I did make a few changes, I added some millet for a little crunch and sauteed beet greens to add a little bit more substance and nutrition. They are delicious hot or cold, keep well for 4-5 days in the fridge and freeze well. I prefer to cook my grains like I would pasta in a bit pot of boiling water and then let them steam for a few minutes after draining the water to finish the cooking. It keeps the grains from getting gummy or mushy and the technique never fails.
Quinoa Patties
adapted from Super Natural Everyday
Ingredients:
- 1 bunch beet greens
- 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 2 1/2 cups/12 oz/340 g cooked quinoa and millet, at room temperature
- 4 large eggs, beaten
- 1/2 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt
- 1 yellow or white onion, finely chopped
- 1/3 cup/.5 oz/15 g goat cheese
- 1//3 cup chives, finely minced
- zest of 1 lemon grated
- 1 cup/3.5 oz /100 g whole grain bread crumbs, plus more if needed
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil or clarified butter
Method:
Wash and dry the greens and then cut off the stems and finely chop them, cut the leaves into ribbons and set aside. Heat the teaspoon of olive oil in a medium skillet, add the garlic and saute for a few minutes until it’s fragrant and translucent. Add the stems and cook them for 3-4 minutes until they soften slightly then add the leaves and continue to cook for another 3 minutes until the greens are wilted. Set the mixture aside to cool slightly while you combine the rest of the ingredients.
Combine the quinoa, millet, eggs, and salt in a medium bowl. Stir in the chives, onion, lemon zest and cheese, . Add the bread crumbs, stir, and let sit for a few minutes so the crumbs can absorb some of the moisture. At this point, you should have a mixture you can easily form into twelve 1-inch/2.5cm thick patties. I err on the very moist side because it makes for a not-overly-dry patty, but you can add more bread crumbs, a bit at a time, to firm up the mixture, if need be. Conversely, a bit more beaten egg or water can be used to moisten the mixture.
Heat the oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium-low heat, add 6 patties, if they’ll fit with some room between each, cover, and cook for 7 to 10 minutes, until the bottoms are deeply browned. Turn up the heat if there is no browning after 10 minutes and continue to cook until the patties are browned. Carefully flip the patties with a spatula and cook the second sides for 7 minutes, or until golden. Remove from the skillet and cool on a wire rack while you cook the remaining patties. Alternatively, the quinoa mixture keeps nicely in the refrigerator for a few days; you can cook patties to order, if you prefer.
To cook the grains:
Combine 1 1/2 cups of well-rinsed uncooked quinoa and 1/2 cup of uncooked millet with 8 cups water and 1 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 13 minutes, then drain the grains return the mixture to the pan and cover with a clean kitchen towel and let it steam for an additional 5 minutes.
