Sunday, November 6, 2011

Sundried Tomato and Olive Quinoa Cakes


I have definitely been on a quinoa kick lately. I absolutely love the stuff. It's easy to make, has a great nutty texture, and is really good for you.

However, this quinoa kick has put me in a little bit of a rut. I find myself making the same things with quinoa. I cook it, then mix it with veggies and turn it into a salad of sorts like my Summer Quinoa Salad with Chicken & Apple.

I mean, don't get me wrong. These one meal wonders with quinoa are delicious. But I felt the need to break out of this quinoa rut and try something different.

For starters, I figured I should make something warm. Like a warm quinoa side dish. But of course, I got caught up in adding stuff to the quinoa, and before I knew it, it was another room tempurature salad of sorts. Again.


So, this time, to break out of the mold, I decided to use the quinoa as a basis for pan fried cakes. I added sundried tomatoes, olives, onions and zucchini for flavor; I added eggs to bind everything, and pan fried them. Then, for a final burst of flavour, I mixed up a little garlic mayo.

I served these cakes with some pan seared wild coho salmon and a little salad and it was a fantastic dinner! The perfect dish to make quinoa interesting again!


Sundried Tomato and Olive Quinoa Cakes
Makes 8 cakes

2 Large Eggs
1/3 cup Onions, finely chopped
1/3 cup Sundried Tomatoes, finely chopped
1/3 cup Olives, finely chopped (whatever kind you like)
1/2 cup Zucchini, finely diced
2 cups Cooked Quinoa, room temperature
2 tbsp Whole Wheat Flour
Salt and Pepper
Olive Oil canola oil for pan

Garlic Mayo
1 clove Garlic, minced
1/2 cup Mayonnaise
2 tbsp Grainy Mustard
Salt and Pepper

In a large bowl, beat the eggs. Stir in the onions, sundried tomatoes, olives and zucchini. Then add the quinoa and flour. Mix until incorporated. Let rest at room temperature for 10-15 minutes.

In the meantime, combine all ingredients for the garlic mayo in a bowl. Mix and set aside.

Heat some oil in a large pan over medium heat. Form the quinoa mixture into balls and place in the preheated pan, pressing down to form patties. Cook until browned on both sides (about 5 minutes per side).

Serve warm with the garlic mayo.

6 comments:

  1. I like the hint of grainy mustard in the garlic mayo! Sundried tomatoes and quinoa is an excellent combination! this sure makes for a perfect meal.

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  2. How good do these look!! So healthy too. I love the use of sun dried tomato!

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  3. I've had the same bag of quinoa sitting in my pantry for a couple weeks waiting for me to figure out what to do with it, your cakes look so perfect! I didn't want to make another salad either :) I love the sun dried tomato olive combo, need to try these!

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  4. These look wonderful! I bet they'd make a great meal on their own!

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    1. Thanks so much! And yes, they are fantastic as a meal. They are also really good as leftovers, even when they are cold!

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  5. we made these last night and subbed in mushrooms for the zucchini and put caperberries in with the olives. Wow, we loved them. Thanks for sharing.

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