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Parmesan Cauliflower-Quinoa Cakes & International Year of Quinoa

How about a double post for the start of the New Year and New blog?

2013 is an exciting year for many reasons, not least of which is that The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization has declared 2013 The Year of Quinoa to celebrate its nutritional qualities and crop viability to celebrate its nutritional qualities and crop viability. Hurrah!

The best place to start is to start, so away we go with a New Year’s Post: Parmesan Cauliflower-Quinoa Cakes. Quick, easy, packed with protein, naturally gluten-free, and, most importantly, delicious. You can make the “dough” and saute all the patties at once, or refrigerate the dough for up to three days, shaping and cooking when you are ready (perfect for lunches). And, of course, the flavor options are boundless–add spices, herbs, and accompanying dipping sauces to your heart’s content.

One more bonus: Nick (6) gobbled up three patties in one sitting (I left out the green onions–despite green being his favorite color, he refuses all green foods save for grapes and kiwifruit).

To quinoa!

Is it wrong that I sometimes dip these in BBQ sauce? Kevin says yes, but I love a good, smokey BBQ sauce…

Parmesan Cauliflower-Quinoa Cakes

Parmesan Cauliflower-Quinoa Cakes

Yield: 4
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes

Quinoa + Cauliflower = Crispy Deliciousness. Perfect for lunch or dinner.

Ingredients

  • 2 bags (12 oz each) frozen cauliflower, thawed and drained
  • 1 can (15 oz) white beans (e.g., cannellini or Great Northern), rinsed and drained
  • 2 medium-size green onions, ends removed, coarsely chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic, peeled, roughly chopped
  • 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
  • 1/2 tsp freshly cracked black pepper
  • 2 cups cooked cooled quinoa
  • 1-1/2 cups panko or fresh bread crumbs, divided
  • 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
  • About 2 tbsp olive oil

Instructions

  1. In food processor, place cauliflower, beans, green onions, garlic, salt and pepper. Cover; process until smooth, then transfer mixture to large bowl.
  2. Stir in quinoa, 1-1/4 cups bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese. Shape mixture into 12 patties, each about 1/2 inch thick and 3 inches in diameter, using about 1/3 cup bean mixture for each. Coat patties with remaining bread crumbs. Refrigerate about 1 hour so mixture holds together.
  3. In a large skillet, heat 1 tbsp oil over medium heat. Add about half of the patties; cook 4 to 6 minutes, turning once, until light golden brown. Repeat until all patties are cooked, adding more oil as needed.

Notes

Make it Vegan: Simply omit the Parmesan cheese.

Make it Gluten-Free: Simply replace the regular breadcrumbs with gluten-free breadcrumbs

Did you make this recipe?

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Jessi

Wednesday 23rd of October 2013

Hi! These look great and I can't wait to try them. Do you have the macro amounts for each serving?

Mitch

Sunday 4th of August 2013

Hi Camilla, these look absolutely fantastic. I am thinking of coating in almond meal as opposed to panko and then cook in coconut oil instead of vegetable oil.

Camilla

Monday 5th of August 2013

That would be great, Mitch! :)

power hungry: Grab & Go Grain & Yogurt Pots

Monday 4th of February 2013

[...] only a few minutes of advance planning. Specifically, five. Use any cooked grain you like– quinoa, farro, barley,brown rice, wheat berries… you get the idea. The key to making the process [...]

Crystal

Sunday 3rd of February 2013

These look great and healthy! Once I get my new recipe search engine website up and running, this is the kind of recipe I'd love to feature! We're not online yet, but please check out our Kickstarter campaign in the meantime:

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2144869982/spoonacular-making-the-web-a-tastier-place/

P.S. We're developing some cool tools for bloggers that you might be interested in too, like an ingredient visualizer that automatically turns standard ingredient lists into visual lists with high-quality images for your blog :)

Laina

Friday 1st of February 2013

Hi Camilla,

This recipe looks delicious. Is it possible to bake these instead? Temp and time? I'm thinking I might add nutritional yeast in place of the parmesan cheese.

Camilla

Sunday 3rd of February 2013

Hi Laina,

Yes, you could definitely bake. Perhaps spritz with a bit of olive oil before putting them in the oven at 400 or 425F. I think I would heat up the baking pan and use a piece of parchment --having the pan hot would help with browning the cakes :)

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