Kelly Rossiter
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I was writing a post for TreeHugger for my new series On Moving Toward Vegetarianism, when I thought, I really should include a recipe to illustrate my point. So in the middle of writing, I left my desk, ran to the kitchen and made Baked Quinoa with Spinach and Cheese. I made enough for two, but by lunchtime I had made so many trips down to the kitchen for just another little taste, it was gone. The original recipe called for four cups of cooked quinoa and I made that much, although I only made a half recipe. So I was left with a lot of quinoa.
It occurred to me that the quinoa would make a nice little fried cake. Scavenging through my refrigerator for bits and pieces to make a sauce, I ended up with some canned tomatoes, a handful of jumbo green olives, and some capers. I had a handful of swiss chard from my garden, which is still going strong and I had the makings of a really easy, cheap meal. Check out your refrigerator and see what great ingredients you can come up with. My recipe is really just a guideline.
Rinse the quinoa really well before you cook it, otherwise it will be bitter. Just put it in a fine mesh sieve and rinse until the water runs clear. Boil three cups of water and add one cup of quinoa and cook for about ten minutes. It's done when you can see little white tails on the grain. Drain it and cover it for ten minutes or so and then fluff it with a fork. That will yield about four cups of cooked quinoa.
Quinoa Cakes with Tomato, Swiss Chard and Olives
2 cups cooked quinoa
1 egg
1 oz Parmesan cheese, grated
salt and pepper to taste
2-3 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp olive oil
1 cup canned tomatoes, coarsely chopped, with liquid
6 giant olives, sliced
2 tbsp capers
1 small handful swiss chard, coarsely chopped
- In a bowl mix quinoa, egg, cheese and salt and pepper. Gently shape into four patties and let them rest on a plate. Set aside.
- In a small skillet heat olive oil over a medium high heat. Allow the oil to get quite hot and then carefully add the tomatoes without the liquid. The oil will spit. Stir and cook for a minute, until the tomatoes and oil separate. Add the olives and capers and chard and cook until the chard has wilted. If the sauce is too dry, add a bit of the tomato liquid.
- In a large skillet heat the vegetable oil over a medium high heat. Carefully slide the patties into the skillet. Let them cook without disturbing them, until a crust has formed on the bottom. If you try to move them too soon they will break apart and you will have a quinoa sloppy joe. Turn once, and cook until a crust has formed.
- Spoon the sauce onto a plate and place two of the cakes on top. Serve immediately.
Difficulty Level: Easy
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