Friday, October 12, 2012

Cheesy Quinoa Patties with avocado dip

I happened across this recipe for cheesy quinoa patties on Spoon Fork Bacon. I gave them a try yesterday, and they were a HIT with the Bucko, he ate almost the whole batch! If you use a gf flour, and a dairy free cheese, it's a perfect, quick meal or side dish. I tweaked it a little, using a dash of hickory salt, fresh cracked lemon pepper, and a few tablespoons (probably 1-2) of diced bacon. I also made a different "dip" for them, avocado yogurt. Ingredients: 2 cups cooked quinoa 2/3 cup grated fontina cheese (or cheese of your choice) 3 tablespoons all purpose flour (gluten free) 2 green onions, thinly sliced 1 egg, lightly beaten 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper 2 ½ tablespoons extra virgin olive oil salt to taste aioli: ½ cup light mayonnaise 1 head of garlic, roasted 1 lemon, zested and juiced ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper salt and pepper to taste Directions: 1. For the cakes: Place all ingredients, except for the oil, into a mixing bowl and stir together until well combined. Season with salt and allow the mixture to sit for 5 minutes. 2. Pour oil into a large sauté pan and place over medium heat. 3. Form ¼ cup patties with the quinoa mixture and place in the heated sauté pan. (this will have to be done in batches) 4. Cook quinoa cakes for about 5 minutes on each side. Repeat with the remaining patties until all of the cakes have been cooked. Set aside. 5. For the aioli: Place all ingredients into a food processor, season with salt and pepper and blend until smooth. Pour into a small bowl and serve alongside the warm quinoa cakes. For the alternate avocado yogurt dip- One ripe avocado 1/4-1/3c Greek (or non-dairy) yogurt, PLAIN One lime Mash avocado with freshly squeezed lime juice, mix in yogurt. Season to taste with a pinch of salt and some fresh cracked pepper.