One of my favorite comedians, Brian Regan, has a funny bit about cranberries that starts off, “I don’t know what in the hell’s going on with cranberries, but they’re getting in all the other juices. Whoever the salesman is for cranberries is doing a great job. He’s showing up everywhere.”
So who’s the slumping salesman for quinoa (pronounced KEEN-waah)? Because you hardly hear a peep about it, overshadowed as it is by other more familiar grains and seeds. Bring up quinoa in a conversation and brace yourself for the blank stare and “KEEN-whaaa?”
Well, let’s settle this: Everyone should be eating quinoa. It’s easy to prepare, versatile in its uses (see this article from Men’s Health), tasty, and a nutritional powerhouse, packed with protein, fiber and minerals.
Mostly, I’ve eaten quinoa as a side dish, much like couscous, or in a salad. The most unique variation were the quinoa hash browns I wrote about last year at the restaurant, Public. This Gourmet recipe for quinoa cakes with eggplant-tomato ragù caught my eye because like the hash browns, it put a different spin on the usual preparation.
Quinoa Cakes
1 1/2 cups water
1 cup quinoa
1 egg, beaten
4 to 5 tablespoons olive oil, divided
Eggplant-Tomato Ragù 1 1/2 lbs eggplant, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 onion, chopped
2 tsp garlic, chopped
1/2 tsp oregano
3 tbsp olive oil
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup roasted red peppers, chopped
3/4 cup water
1 tbsp parsley, chopped
1 cup smoked mozzarella, diced (optional)
To prepare the quinoa, rinse it several times to remove any bitterness. Bring the water and a 1/2 tsp salt to a boil, and add the quinoa. Return to a boil, reduce to low, and simmer, covered for 20 minutes.
Turn off the heat and let stand, covered, 5 minutes. Transfer the quinoa to a bowl to cool for 10 minutes. The quinoa will look light and fluffy at this point.
Stir in the egg, line a baking sheet with plastic wrap and lightly brush with oil. Lightly oil a measuring cup. Pack in the quinoa until it reaches 2/3 cup, then carefully unmold it onto the baking sheet and pat the quinoa into patties. Make 3 more quinoa cakes (don’t forget to oil the measuring cup each time) and chill them uncovered for 15 minutes.
The first three cakes came out well, but the fourth one on the upper left, began to fall apart when I unmolded it. I don’t think I packed it down hard enough in the measuring cup.
After 15 minutes, heat up olive oil over medium heat in a nonstick skillet or griddle, and carefully place the quinoa cakes on it.
Brown on each side until golden, about 5 minutes per side.
As you can see, a few of the cakes fell apart a bit, especially after I flipped them. (From what I read in the recipe reviews, that seemed to be a common problem. Even the cake in the Gourmet picture is broken up! That makes me feel better.)
This one held together the best.
Meanwhile, prepare the ragù; this can be done ahead of time. Saute the eggplant, onion, garlic and oregano until soft, then add in the tomatoes, roasted peppers and water. Simmer covered for 10 minutes, and add in the chopped parsley.
I didn’t have any mozzarella, but if you have it, stir in half until it melts.
The fun part of this dish is the presentation — it’s very dramatic. Take a cake, and spoon the ragù and remaining mozzarella onto it. I had feta on hand and sprinkled it over the top.
The crispiness of the quinoa cake is what makes it. The flavor of the cake itself isn’t anything special — there’s definitely room to play around with ingredients to kick it up. But it works well as a blank, crispy vehicle for the ragù.
Normally, grains don’t fill me up, but I felt satisfied and full after eating two servings and a side salad. Plus I knew I’d just given myself a wallop of nutrition.
So I’m going to be the quinoa salesman for today: Even if you don’t want to try this particular recipe, pick up a box, keep it in your pantry, and start incorporating quinoa into your diet. I doubt you’ll be disappointed.
Quinoa Cakes with Eggplant-Tomato Ragu
One of my favorite comedians, Brian Regan, has a funny bit about cranberries that starts off, “I don’t know what in the hell’s going on with cranberries, but they’re getting in all the other juices. Whoever the salesman is for cranberries is doing a great job. He’s showing up everywhere.”
So who’s the slumping salesman for quinoa (pronounced KEEN-waah)? Because you hardly hear a peep about it, overshadowed as it is by other more familiar grains and seeds. Bring up quinoa in a conversation and brace yourself for the blank stare and “KEEN-whaaa?”
Well, let’s settle this: Everyone should be eating quinoa. It’s easy to prepare, versatile in its uses (see this article from Men’s Health), tasty, and a nutritional powerhouse, packed with protein, fiber and minerals.
Mostly, I’ve eaten quinoa as a side dish, much like couscous, or in a salad. The most unique variation were the quinoa hash browns I wrote about last year at the restaurant, Public. This Gourmet recipe for quinoa cakes with eggplant-tomato ragù caught my eye because like the hash browns, it put a different spin on the usual preparation.
Quinoa Cakes
1 1/2 cups water
1 cup quinoa
1 egg, beaten
4 to 5 tablespoons olive oil, divided
Eggplant-Tomato Ragù
1 1/2 lbs eggplant, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 onion, chopped
2 tsp garlic, chopped
1/2 tsp oregano
3 tbsp olive oil
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup roasted red peppers, chopped
3/4 cup water
1 tbsp parsley, chopped
1 cup smoked mozzarella, diced (optional)
To prepare the quinoa, rinse it several times to remove any bitterness. Bring the water and a 1/2 tsp salt to a boil, and add the quinoa. Return to a boil, reduce to low, and simmer, covered for 20 minutes.
Turn off the heat and let stand, covered, 5 minutes. Transfer the quinoa to a bowl to cool for 10 minutes. The quinoa will look light and fluffy at this point.
Stir in the egg, line a baking sheet with plastic wrap and lightly brush with oil. Lightly oil a measuring cup. Pack in the quinoa until it reaches 2/3 cup, then carefully unmold it onto the baking sheet and pat the quinoa into patties. Make 3 more quinoa cakes (don’t forget to oil the measuring cup each time) and chill them uncovered for 15 minutes.
The first three cakes came out well, but the fourth one on the upper left, began to fall apart when I unmolded it. I don’t think I packed it down hard enough in the measuring cup.
After 15 minutes, heat up olive oil over medium heat in a nonstick skillet or griddle, and carefully place the quinoa cakes on it.
Brown on each side until golden, about 5 minutes per side.
As you can see, a few of the cakes fell apart a bit, especially after I flipped them. (From what I read in the recipe reviews, that seemed to be a common problem. Even the cake in the Gourmet picture is broken up! That makes me feel better.)
This one held together the best.
Meanwhile, prepare the ragù; this can be done ahead of time. Saute the eggplant, onion, garlic and oregano until soft, then add in the tomatoes, roasted peppers and water. Simmer covered for 10 minutes, and add in the chopped parsley.
I didn’t have any mozzarella, but if you have it, stir in half until it melts.
The fun part of this dish is the presentation — it’s very dramatic. Take a cake, and spoon the ragù and remaining mozzarella onto it. I had feta on hand and sprinkled it over the top.
The crispiness of the quinoa cake is what makes it. The flavor of the cake itself isn’t anything special — there’s definitely room to play around with ingredients to kick it up. But it works well as a blank, crispy vehicle for the ragù.
Normally, grains don’t fill me up, but I felt satisfied and full after eating two servings and a side salad. Plus I knew I’d just given myself a wallop of nutrition.
So I’m going to be the quinoa salesman for today: Even if you don’t want to try this particular recipe, pick up a box, keep it in your pantry, and start incorporating quinoa into your diet. I doubt you’ll be disappointed.