Eat Smart - Quinoa Patties

Nutrition is an oft-discussed topic for personal trainers, including this one.  And while I'll never claim to be a Registered Dietician, I've worked with some excellent ones over the years.  They taught me a lot, and I continue to learn from my clients and my own ongoing research.  Paleo diet anyone?  Atkins?  Gluten Free?  Who's to know?  Combine all the mixed messages with the surprisingly little amount of nutrition knowledge many people have and who wouldn't be confused.  A co-worker I respect a lot asked one day: "what if everyone stopped listing what makes one diet different from another, and see what they all have in common."  I couldn't agree more.

Hopefully, you eat a minimum of processed foods and high fat dairy; you eat lots of fruits, veggies, and whole grains and legumes; you seek out clean and well-sourced protein; and you enjoy your meals!  Yes.  I hope you enjoy your meals.  My active clients want satisfying food that tastes good.  And you can count the following recipe as meeting those criteria.  Filling, savory, and a great anchor to any lunch or dinner, the Little Quinoa Patties we made last week were a 10 out of 10 on the new recipe discovery quest.  If you are gluten-free, you can easily make the patties with gluten-free breadcrumbs, and a dairy-free person could use an egg substitute and omit the cheese.  We used a good peccorino and the flavor was great.  Next time we'll add shallots, and we used scallions instead of chives.  The recipe says to cook for 7 minutes per side, more if necessary; I cooked them for about 10 minutes per side.  YUM. 

Little Quinoa Patties

2 1/2 cups cooked quinoa, at room temperature

4 large eggs, beaten

1/2 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt

1/3 cup finely chopped fresh chives 

1 yellow or white onion, finely chopped

1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan or Gruyère cheese

3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 cup whole grain bread crumbs, plus more if needed

Water, if needed

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil or clarified butter


Combine the cooked quinoa, eggs, and salt in a medium bowl. Stir in the chives, onion, cheese, and garlic.  Add the bread crumbs, stir, and let sit for a few minutes so the crumbs can absorb some of the moisture.  At this point, you should have a mixture you can easily form into twelve 1 inch patties.  Err on the moist side because it makes for a not-overly-dry patty, but you can add more bread crumbs, a bit at a time, to firm up the mixture, as necessary.  Conversely, a bit more beaten egg or water can be used to moisten the mixture.

Heat the oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium-low heat, add 6 patties, if they'll fit with some room between each, cover, and cook for 7 to 10 minutes, until the bottoms are deeply browned. Turn up the heat if there is no browning after 10 minutes and continue to cook until the patties are browned. Carefully flip the patties with a spatula and cook the second sides for 7 minutes, or until golden. Remove from the skillet and cool on a wire rack while you cook the remaining patties. Alternatively, the quinoa mixture keeps nicely in the refrigerator for a few days; and you can cook patties to order, if you prefer.


To cook quinoa:

Combine 2 cups/12 oz/340 g of well-rinsed uncooked quinoa with 3 cups / 700 ml water and 1/2 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, cover, decrease the heat, and simmer for 25 to 30 minutes, until the quinoa is tender and you can see the little quinoa curlicues.

This recipe is from the Epicurious app for Ipad.  You can view the complete recipe, from Super Natural Every Day by Heidi Swanson, online at: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Little-Quinoa-Patties-365029?mbid=ipapp

To see how other cooks rated and reviewed this recipe, go to http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Little-Quinoa-Patties-365029?mbid=ipapp

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