These quinoa cakes are a family favorite and a nice change from your standard quinoa dish. All it takes is a few spices, some eggs to bind the quinoa together, and a little pan frying in olive oil to turn ordinary quinoa into something absolutely delicious. The chimichurri sauce is a perfect complement to these cakes. You can serve the quinoa cakes and chimichurri with a variety of roasted, grilled, or stir fried vegetables for a full meal. I use my pancake griddle to cook the cakes.
Chimichurri is a traditional sauce from Argentina. The main ingredient is parsley. It is very similar to Italian salsa verde. With the help of a mini food processor, it comes together in no time. It pairs beautifully with the smokey quinoa cakes. But no need to stop there. This sauce goes well with almost anything – fish, whole grains, grilled vegetables, etc.
Prep and Cooking Time: 20 minutes if you have already cooked quinoa; 40 – 45 minutes if cooking quinoa.
Serves: 4
Quinoa Cakes
Ingredients:
- 1 cup uncooked quinoa (or 2 cups cooked and cooled)
- 2 cups water (if cooking quinoa)
- 1/2 tsp. sea salt
- 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano or leaves from a couple stems fresh oregano, minced
- 2 or 3 large eggs, lightly beaten
- olive oil (for pan frying)
- Flaky sea salt (such as Maldon)
- Freshly ground black pepper
- If using uncooked quinoa, rinse the grain in cold water, then drain in a fine-mesh strainer.
- In a pot, combine the quinoa with 2 cups water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover, and cook until the water is absorbed, 15 to 18 minutes. Allow quinoa to cool. If you are in a hurry, spread the quinoa in a large, shallow dish and place, uncovered, in the refrigerator.
- Combine the cooled quinoa, salt, paprika, cumin, oregano, and 2 eggs. You should have a “dough” that will form a moist ball. If the mixture is still dry and fluffy, add another egg.
- Heat your largest skillet or a flat griddle pan over medium-high heat. Lightly oil the skillet or griddle pan. Form 1/4 cup of the quinoa mixture into a ball. Place it in the skillet and use a spatula to flatten it into a pancake about 1/4 inch thick. Repeat to make 7 or so more pancakes, working in batches as necessary.
- Cook the quinoa cakes until golden brown on one side, 2 to 3 minutes, then flip and brown the other side, about 2 minutes more. Remove from the pan and season with flaky sea salt and pepper. Serve immediately with chimichurri (see below).
- 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 garlic clove, peeled and chopped fine or pressed
- 1 cup well-rinsed parsley leaves, lightly packed
- 1 cup well-rinsed cilantro leaves, lightly packed
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
- 1/4 cup red onion, minced
- 1 tablespoon capers, rinsed
- In a mini food processor, combine the olive oil and garlic and run until the garlic is well distributed. If you don’t have a mini food processor, you might need to make a double batch as a full size machine probably won’t work well on this small quantity.
- Add the parsley, cilantro, salt, pepper, and vinegar and process until minced but with still a bit of texture left in the leaves.
- Remove from the food processor and mix in the onions and capers.
- Let rest at least 30 minutes, then taste and adjust salt, pepper, and vinegar as needed.