Quinoa Cakes

I recently saw these quinoa cakes on The Barefoot Kitchen and immediately added them to my weekly meal plan. I have been on quite the spinach kick lately (probably because the guy who sells it to me is just so dang adorable, seriously!) and I love quinoa so of course I wanted to adapt these cakes to my tastes. After I posted the star anise and vanilla bean ice cream, the lovely people at The Spice House contacted me. Since I let them use my picture on their website, they wonderfully sent me some spices to use in my cooking. I thought it would be a good idea to add one of these spices to my quinoa cakes. The only thing I measured while making this recipe was the quinoa so if you decide to make this, please take these measurements with a grain of salt. I added and subtracted things as I saw fit and you should definitely feel free to do the same. I had planned to serve this with some kind of yogurt dipping sauce, but it was late, I was tired and the best I could come up with was a spinach salad. Sue me. There really isn't a recipe for the salad. Some spinach, a spritz or two of lemon juice, a small glug of olive oil and season with salt and pepper. It's a go-to salad and vinaigrette for me that I can always rely on in a pinch. Once again, feel free to adapt part or all of this recipe to your tastes. When I make vegetable cakes like this, I always like some kind of onion flavor which here was provided by the green onion. The Baharat mixture added a nice background heat which was great because it wasn't too hot, but enough to feel it on your tongue. If you don't have this mixture at home, feel free to sub in some cayenne. I think I will definitely be experimenting with these quinoa cakes in the very near future to see what other mixtures I can come up with.



Quinoa Cakes
(Adapted from Barefoot Kitchen)

1 cup spinach, washed patted dry and roughly chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup cooked quinoa
1 carrot, finely shredded
1 green onion, thinly sliced
1/2 teaspoon Baharat spice mixture
Salt and pepper
1 tablespoon Panko breadcrumbs
1 egg, beaten
Olive oil for frying

In a large bowl mix together the spinach, garlic, quinoa, carrot, green onion, Baharat, and Panko. Taste a liberally season with salt and pepper. Add the panko and egg and mix well to combine.

Heat a layer of olive oil in a non-stick skillet. Form the quinoa into 2" patties about 1/2 inch thick. Drop into the oil and cook until well browned on one side, 2-3 minutes. Flip and cook on the other side, then set on paper towels to drain.