Okay, I will admit that I’m not the biggest fan of quinoa. It just doesn’t taste all that great to me, no matter what I’ve put it in. But the thought of it mixed with some herbs, cheese and onion, then fried until crispy intrigued me. I couldn’t resist-and as a result, I have found my very favorite way to eat quinoa.
These patties are delicious cold, hot, warm, slathered with mashed avocado, topped with hot sauce, eaten with salad, grabbed from the fridge for a snack, gobbled for a quick lunch, or with some sides for dinner. I think they would be a perfect addition to your child’s lunch box-easy to hold and eat, tasty, and oh SO healthy.
Photo copyright Karen Humphrey
Crispy Quinoa Patties
Adapted from Super Natural Every Day
2 ½ cups cooked quinoa (room temperature)
4 large eggs, beaten
½ tsp salt
1/3 cup chives, finely chopped
1 onion, chopped
1/3 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup fine bread crumbs
Water, if needed
Cook the quinoa according to package directions. I found that 1 cup of raw quinoa gave me enough to proceed with this recipe. Allow it to cool to room temperature before proceeding.
In a large bowl, mix together the cooled quinoa, eggs, and salt. Stir in the chives, onion, cheese, and garlic. Add the bread crumbs about 1/3 cup at a time, stirring as you go, and pausing half way through to allow them to soak up some of the liquid. I found that I almost didn’t need all the breadcrumbs, probably because I used fine dry crumbs rather than freshly made ones. It likely makes a difference. What you want is a patty that will hold together and not be too dry, as it will crumble apart. A good way to test your mixture is to gather some in your hand and squeeze it together to test if it will come together. It’s better to be on the moist side, as you don’t want dry patties. Add some water if you need to.
Heat up a little oil in a non stick fry pan, and shaping the mixture into patties, add about six to the hot pan. You want to make sure not to overcrowd the pan, so fry them up in batches. Squish them down a little so that they are a bit flat, because you want as much as the surface area as possible to be golden brown and crispy. Cover and fry over medium low heat for about 7-10 minutes. They are best when they are really deeply browned, so if that’s not happening you can turn up the heat. Flip over and cook the other side for about 7 minutes. Remove to a wire rack.
Makes 12-14 patties