Red & White Quinoa Cakes

Quinoa (pronounced kee-nuaw), is one of my all-time favorite grains. And, when I found red quinoa at the market, I just couldn't resist! It's a tiny grain that plumps up when cooked and has a fragrant, nutty taste.

We DJed Colusa Casino's holiday party last December, and the hotel chef made us these incredible quinoa cakes (much like crab cakes), which was a shock to us, because we're just not used to that kind of love- especially from mainstream chefs! He told us how excited he was to make them for us, and even went out of his way to get the ingredients! After that, I knew I wanted to make my own version. This one uses white beans and the aforementioned red quinoa. Simple to throw together, and oh so good! We served 'em up with roasted eggplant, marinated tomatoes, and seasoned baked potato wedges.

Ingredients:

1 can (15oz.) white beans
2 C. cooked red quinoa
1/2 C. onion, finely chopped
1/2 C. cilantro, chopped
1 T. unsalted broth powder (or nutritional yeast + spices)
salt & pepper to taste
3/4 C. panko bread crumbs
oil for pan frying

Spinz:

Rinse and drain the white beans, then mash them up- leaving some chunks in there. Add the cooked quinoa, onion, cilantro, broth powder, salt, and pepper, and mix together. Form into golf ball sized balls, press to flatten a bit, and coat with bread crumbs. Cook each side for a few minutes in a large flat skillet with a thin layer of oil.