Veggies: A quinoa cake that can win skeptics over
A funny thing happens every time I see a new quinoa recipe. I think: Maybe this will be the one!
You know, the one that ultimately persuades me to make this protein-rich grain (technically a seed) part of my weeknight rotation. Sure, I've dabbled here and there, and as a self-confessed quinoa skeptic, I've come to know which ways work best for me and my palate. Mostly, that has consisted of combining the quinoa with a larger grain, toasting it for a topping or putting it in soups and stews.
Previously, one of my favorite recipes was a quinoa and barley cake; the presence of that larger grain made up for the little stick-in-your-teeth quality that sometimes bugs me so much about quinoa. But when I saw another recipe for quinoa cakes in the new America's Test Kitchen book, "Cooking at Home With Bridget and Julia," I knew I had to try it, because I was confident that Bridget Lancaster and Julia Collin Davison wouldn't possibly steer me wrong.
This is one of Davison's recipes, and the secret is all the good stuff she adds to the cooked quinoa, not only to hold it together (there's bread and egg for that), but also to flavor it: sun-dried tomatoes, lemon zest and juice, Parmesan and more. There's a good dose of chopped baby spinach leaves to give it more color and heft, too.
After forming the mixture into patties, you refrigerate them for at least an hour to help them firm up, making them easier to pan-fry. They're still a little delicate to flip, but it's nothing a flexible spatula and a little room in the skillet can't manage, and the result is, they get nice and crisp on the outside.
Davison includes a recipe for a cucumber-yogurt sauce to go with them, but I took an easier route and just dolloped plain Greek yogurt on top. The next day, when I went back for leftovers, I realized just how good a recipe this is: The cakes are even better cold, which makes them that much more versatile. I think I found the one.