Quinoa Cakes Part Two: Herbs

Recipes — By sowj on March 22, 2012 12:23 am

After sharing my first quinoa cake recipe that involved lovely Indian flavors such as garam masala, red chili, and garlic, I now offer you a sumptuous (and less spicy) alternative. With Part Two of my quinoa cakes, I decided to add grated golden beets to my base of black beans and baked sweet potatoes. The beets brought out the rich sweetness of the potatoes and also added a textural fluffy lightness to the baked cake.

For seasoning, I decided to go with two of my favorite green herbs: sage and thyme. Both have strong, wonderful aromas along with anti-oxidant powers. Sage is also anti-inflammatory and it boosts memory function in the brain. Thyme is anti-microbial and a great source of manganese, iron and calcium.

I topped off these cakes with fried sage. As an accompaniment, I decided on a simple salad of sunflower sprouts, tomato and avocado, dressed with olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper. I’m telling you, this meal was devine. I recently discovered sunflower sprouts at a vegan restaurant in NYC’s East Village. I immediately fell in love with the sprouts’ nutty flavor and hearty texture. As a bonus to the deliciousness, sunflower sprouts are also a great source of protein, omega 3 fatty acid, vitamins and minerals.

QUINOA CAKE INGREDIENTS

1 medium sized Sweet Potatoes, baked
1/2 can Black Beans
1/2 cup Red Quinoa, cooked
1 small Golden Beet, grated (or you can use a Red Beet)
Fresh Sage, to taste
Fresh Thyme, to taste
Salt to taste
Brown Rice Flour

PREPARATION

Poke holes in your sweet potato with a fork. Bake your sweet potato on 400F, for 45 minutes to an hour. While this is baking, bring 1 cup of water to a boil and add in the quinoa. Bring the water to a simmer, cover and cook for 15 minutes or until the quinoa is cooked.

Once the quinoa is cooked, set it aside. Add a tbsp of olive oil to a pan and turn the heat up to medium low. Add in chopped sage, thyme and salt to taste. Allow the spices to cook for a minute before adding in the quinoa. Saute the quinoa until the flavors have combined well. Set aside.

Once the sweet potato is baked and slightly cooled, peel the skin and mash it together with the black beans and a pinch of salt and peppr. You’ll want to mash it until there are no whole beans left. Add in your grated beat and mix. Then add in 2/3 of the quinoa and mix.

Once you have your mash, take some brown rice flour and put about 1/2 a cup onto a plate. Take a handful of the mash and shape it into a patty. Lightly coat the entire patty with brown rice flour by tapping it onto the plate of flour. Then roll the patty into remaining quinoa, creating an outer layer of quinoa on the patty. Place this patty on a baking sheet. Repeat these step with the rest of the mash.

Bake the patties on 400 for about 20 minutes. Check them halfway through to make sure the quinoa isn’t burning. You can always cover the the baking sheet with foil. You’ll know when the cakes are done when they have firmed up and you can lift them easily without their cracking and breaking. Allow the cakes to cool and set for 10 minutes.

SALAD INGREDIENTS

Sunflower Sprouts
Avocado
Tomato
Lemon Juice
Olive Oil
Salt
Black Pepper
Turmeric (Optional)

PREPARATION

For the purposes of the photograph and presentation, I kept the avocado and tomato separate from the salad. However, when I ate the salad, I mixed it all together. I didn’t put measurements on the ingredients, as is typical with my recipes, because I tend to vary the proportions depending on my mood. So use your best judgement or your taste preference to guide your proportion choices! Mix all of these ingredients together and enjoy!

I also served this quinoa cake with a garnish of fried sage. It’s one of the most decadent ways to eat sage and is quite easy to prepare. Simply heat some olive oil on medium low. When the oil is hot, add in your sage. The oil will sizzle. Once the sizzling sound dies down, the sage is ready, or when the leaves just start to turn color. The sage will now be crispy and melt-in-your-mouth delicious. Garnish your quinoa cake with this and enjoy!