Quinoa Cakes

The original recipe is based on a rice burger recipe, and was changed to use quinoa by Linda Farnsworth. I tried these earlier this week and they were good, but I just couldn’t picture them as burgers… they reminded me more of a crab-cake sort of dish (and I’m also wondering what they would be like with crab mixed in… I’ll likely be trying them that way at some point in the future).

I tweeked the recipe just a touch - mostly in the way the ingredients are listed, and I’m including the directions for the easy cilantro-lime sauce I topped mine with. And yes, that is a Spider-Man plate I served this on, it was something I received in my Easter basket last month.

Quinoa Cakes

• 3 cups cooked quinoa (I used a mix of red, white and black in this particular batch)
• 3/4 cup shredded cheese (mozzarella, cheddar, or whatever you prefer)
• 1/2 cup cottage cheese
• 1/2 cup finely grated carrot (about 1 medium)
• 2 green onions, thinly sliced (including greens)
• 3 eggs, slightly beaten
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar or other granular sweetener
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

In a medium-large bowl, mix all the ingredients together. I sort of eye-balled the spices… feel free to play with them a bit to your own personal tastes. Next time I’ll likely add some cayenne pepper for a lil zing. Make sure it’s all mixed well. It will be a bit on the sticky side… which you want.

Heat a skillet or frying pan over medium-high heat.

Take a handful of the quinoa mixture and form in to a patty about 1/2-inch thick, about 4-inches across. Depending on your skillet, you may need a touch of oil or a non-stick spray. I used a non-stick skillet and had no problems. Place the patty in the skillet and cook four to five minutes before carefully flipping over and cooking the other side for about another four or five minutes.

These do not hold up well on their own until they are cooked, so you can’t exactly make them up ahead of time. I found myself making three at a time cause that’s what fit in my skillet with room to flip them over when needed.

They do reheat really well, and .. well they froze well, but I haven’t eaten them after having frozen them yet… I’ll update with a comment in a few days after I’ve tried one from frozen, but I don’t see why they wouldn’t heat back up just fine.

As for the sauce I topped them with, just mix the following together and let it sit for a bit before using:

• 1/2 cup plain yogurt
• about 2 tablespoons chopped, fresh cilantro
• 3 packets True Lime crystallized lime

You may remember me talking about True Lemon products recently. This is a case where having a “dry” product works really well. Yes, I could use some fresh lime juice (about 1/2 small lime), but it would thin out the yogurt, not the consistency I wanted. I suppose if I was starting with a thick, Greek style yogurt, or had strained my yogurt, adding the juice wouldn’t be an issue - but since I tend to keep the True Lime around for my water, it seemed like another perfect use for it.

So try these out… I will have to try these as a “burger” one of these days… maybe on one of those sandwich thins instead of a bun. I’ll report back how it goes… they wouldn’t work for grilling, but I suppose these could have some possibility as a vegetarian option to a burger.

Related Posts:

• Cranberry Quinoa Salad
• Cuban Beef With Quinoa
• A Beginner’s Guide to Quinoa