A few years ago, I made the personal decision to eliminate red meat from my diet, for health reasons, as well as the fact that suddenly, I became allergic to beef. No warning, no heads up; just the fact that the symptoms of allergy were unmistakable and could not be ignored. I have other food allergies so this really didn’t surprise me. Cranberries, watermelon, raw walnuts. Go figure.
Shortly after the beef allergy discovery, I decided to drastically reduce my consumption of most meat. Occasionally, I eat chicken, turkey or fish. I’ve become primarily vegetarian, and it suits me, and my metabolism, just fine.
However, in lieu of this, I have to make sure I get enough protein in my diet. There are other folks out there, besides vegetarians and vegans, who need to make sure of that as well. For instance, people who have had gastric bypass surgery. It is vital they get enough protein in their daily diet. It has to become a way of life, a habitual process of healthy eating. With a bit of research, and consulting with your Dr.(s) and/or nutritionist, it isn’t difficult to do.
Quinoa, (KEEN-wah) was a standard ingredient in the diets of the ancient Incas and is considered a complete protein, as it contains all eight of the essential amino acids. Tiny, cream colored beads of grain, similar to rice yet taking half the time to cook, quinoa has, in my opinion, a slightly nutty flavor. When cooked with spices, herbs and other ingredients, it absorbs the flavors and becomes a delectable addition to many dishes.
I add quinoa to soups, stews, pasta dishes, and salads. There are many ways of enjoying this super grain, and I have a lot of fun experimenting and trying different combinations. I have yet to use quinoa flour, but I will. When I do, I will share the results. Until then, here is one of my favorite ways to take advantage of quinoa’s healthy, delicious, protein filled goodness, and to use up leftovers at the same time.
I always cook more quinoa than I need for the simple reason that I use it in a lot of meals. It stores well, and cooking more than I plan to use saves time when I am using it more than once during the week. It freezes well too.
When cooked, it expands to four times its tiny uncooked size. Follow the cooking directions on the package.
In this particular recipe, I used up leftover roasted butternut squash, russet potatoes and Vidalia onion I had made for dinner a previous night. Roasted with butter, salt, pepper, and a bit of dried thyme, the blend was perfect for mixing with quinoa for these cakes. I had about 1 1/2 cups of this leftover roasted squash/potato/onion blend. I cooked a cup of quinoa (which is 2 cups cooked) and after it cooled I added it to the squash, potato, and onion blend. ( I don’t use a food processor to mix the ingredients…I like the smashed squash and potato mixture to be chunky so I mix by hand. ( I think this texture allows the cakes to hold together better during baking.)
So, at this point I have roughly 1 1/2 cups of leftover squash, potato, onion blend and 2 cups of cooked quinoa. Use what ever amount of leftover veggie mix you have available, you can’t mess this up. This is a wonderful way (in my opinion) to create something different every time you make it. Different leftovers create different quinoa cakes each time. Garlic mashed, steamed carrots and beets, mashed butternut or sweet potato…anything goes and exact measurements are not vital.
I put my leftover blend and the cooked quinoa into a large mixing bowl. Once I stirred it up a bit, I added a cup of ricotta cheese, 2 TB of finely grated Parmesan, more salt and pepper and a few cloves of leftover roasted garlic I had in the fridge. I stirred this all up well and decided it needed more dried thyme so I added another teaspoon or so of that and as it was a bit too moist for my liking I added a 1/4 cup of plain panko. If your mixture is too moist to hold its shape when forming into cakes, you will need to add a bit of plain panko or bread crumbs until it is firm enough to hold its shape. No exact measurements here. Use your best cooking sense.
Put a cup of plain panko in a pie plate along with 2 TB of flour and 1 TB of grated Parmesan cheese. Mix those three ingredients together well and then form your quinoa cakes into roughly one cup sized cakes. Then, roll each cake in the panko mixture until well coated all around. Set the quinoa cakes aside on a plate while you get out your baking pan. Set your oven to 400 degrees. Drizzle enough extra virgin olive oil over the bottom of the pan to coat. Place each quinoa cake into the pan and press down a bit so the cakes are a bit flatter. Then. drizzle the tops of each with a bit more evoo. Shake a bit of paprika over the tops of each quinoa cake.
Place the pan in the 400 degree oven and set the timer for 25 minutes. When the timer goes off take the pan out of the oven and carefully, using a flat, firm spatula, turn the cakes over. Here, in this picture, (above) I added some sliced green tomatoes to the pan once I turned the cakes over. I used up the leftover panko, Parmesan cheese and flour mixture on the green tomato slices, and put them in the pan alongside and between the quinoa cakes. After you have turned the cakes over and added the tomatoes to the pan (or not), drizzle a bit more evoo over the tops of the cakes. Put the pan back in the oven and bake for another 25 minutes.
This is simplicity, really…at its best. These quinoa cakes are delicious any way you make them. With any leftover potato mixture, squash blend, carrot and/or cooked or roasted root vegetable combo…your call. Try it…any which way you like. Be sure to add a binder ie: cheeses, panko or breadcrumbs, white beans. I shy away from egg, but that is just my preference. Use it if you like.
Different herbs and spices make a difference too. I love a bit of curry, cumin, Turkish spice mix. Experiment and let your creative, culinary imagination, take over.
Feta, asiago, mozzarella cheese…I could go on and on and on…but I won’t. You need to get busy in your kitchen!
Quinoa is available in most large supermarkets. It isn’t difficult to find. It’s typically in the rice and grain aisle. Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods, my favorite local, Guido’s Fresh Market.
Have fun…and try it. I’m sure you will like it.
Many Blessings…