Print the recipe page!  quinoa cakes

Today’s recipe was adapted from this Quinoa Burger recipe.  To my son and husband the name “burger” equates to something containing meat so we’re re-naming them “Quinoa Cakes” to make them happy.  Whatever they’re called, I’ll tell you what, I could eat these all day!   I’m thinking {now that they’re all gone and it’s almost lunch time} that next time I’ll double the recipe and freeze a few uncooked to pull out for later.   My kids liked them, dipping them into either ketchup or fry sauce (that drive-in ketchup/mayo sauce).  The original recipe also suggested finishing them off with tzatziki sauce  — I didn’t try that but it sounds good!

You’ll see that these cakes follow the same idea as the Quinoa Pizza Bites we loved, except that they use a different cheese and seasoning combo.  Additionally they’re fried (*on low, so they don’t burn) rather than baked.  Again chia powder takes the place of eggs as their binder which I love for the extra nutritional boost!

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serves 4-6

Ingredients:

3/4 cup freeze dried carrot dices (with 1/2 cup hot water for rehydrating)

3/4 cup freeze dried cheddar cheese (with 1/3 cup cold water for rehydrating)

3 TBS ground chia seeds (with 6 TBS — or 1/3 cup + 1 TBS water for moistening)

2 rounded cups cooked quinoa (*see notes)

1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese

3 TBS flour

1/4 tsp. black pepper

1/4 tsp. ground cumin

3/4 tsp. salt

1/8 – 1/4 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 tsp. sugar

olive oil for frying

Instructions:

Cook quinoa according to directions using boullion (1 tsp. per cup of liquid) rather than water.  Rehydrate carrots and (separately) cheese.  Combine cooked quinoa, rehydrated cheese and carrots, parmesan cheese, flour, black pepper, cumin, salt, garlic powder and sugar.  A little at a time, sprinkle ground chia seeds over the top of the mixture, mixing together well before sprinkling more chia.  The chia needs to be evenly distributed (no clumps) so be careful not to sprinkle too much on at once.  Stir in the 6 TBS of water to moisten the mix.  Allow to sit for 30 minutes.

Form mixture into patties and fry on low to medium heat, turning after each side is golden brown.  Serve with fry sauce or tzatziki.

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Rehydrate the carrots using hot water

Rehydrate the cheese with cold water and allow to sit for just 5 minutes (or less).  Use a paper towel to blot out any excess water.

Combine the cooked quinoa, rehydrated cheese and carrots, parmesan cheese, flour, black pepper, cumin, salt, garlic powder and sugar in a bowl.

Lightly sprinkle the chia powder over top of the quinoa mixture (working little by little) and stir to combine.

Add the 6 TBS water and allow to sit for 30 minutes.

Form into patties and fry on an oiled pan over low to medium heat (take your time) until cakes are golden brown and set up well throughout.

And here’s the end result, quinoa done up right!

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Notes:

• I plan to use my wheat grinder to grind up my chia seeds if the power is out.  Otherwise, I use my Vitamix blender.

• I’m assuming that barley (or any other grain for that matter) could probably be made into cakes in the very same way with good results.  The post this recipe came from mentioned that it was taken from a rice burger recipe she’d made for years and one day had simply subbed out the rice for quinoa.  This is great for me — I have a lot of pearled barley stored, now I think I finally have a recipe to use it in!

To help (so you don’t have to search all over everywhere to find it), here’s my tutorial for making quinoa.  Just remember to use a tsp or two of bouillon to help add a little flavor as it’s cooking.

Cooking Quinoa

By using less liquid than the usual prescription of 1:2, you’ll end up with much better quinoa that’s not a big gluey mess.  For reference, 1/2 cup dry quinoa will make 2 cups when cooked — so you can gauge the amount you begin with accordingly.  This is what I do…

If you are using unrinsed quinoa, rinse it first to get rid of it’s natural bitter coating.  The best way to do this is to soak it.  You can soak it up to an hour (or more) without a problem but 15 minutes is good enough if you’re in a hurry.  After soaking, rinse it in a fine metal strainer (or cheesecloth if you don’t have a strainer).  If you’re using pre-rinsed quinoa you can skip this step.

In a pot, add one part quinoa with one and one quarter parts liquid.  This can be water or water with added bouillon depending on what you’re gearing the quinoa to be made for.  Bring this to a boil (covered) and either turn it down to simmer for 20 minutes or transfer it to your wonder oven until all the liquid is absorbed (again, 20 minutes).

BTW, I love that little bundle on the left even more than 100 wonder ovens!! ♥

And here it is, easy, healthy and perfectly cooked quinoa!