I have been a huge fan of quinoa ever since I first came across it and I am always looking for new ways to enjoy it. I recently came across the idea of quinoa cakes on Annie’s Eats and I immediately knew that I would have to try them! Quinoa cakes are essentially fritters where the ‘batter’ is made from cooked quinoa along with some eggs and flour to bind it and the batter is formed into patties and fried in oil until nice and golden brown and light and crispy on the outside. Although you could add pretty much any flavours that you want to your quinoa cakes I wanted to keep my first quinoa cakes nice and simple and I just added the standard onions, garlic and cheese to the basic batter.
Annie served her quinoa cakes topped with a poached egg and I have to admit that topping something with a poached egg is one of my favourite way of doing breakfast so I was sold on the idea! Since my quinoa caked themselves were not going to be packed with flavour I decided to add some to the dish in the form of a roasted red pepper and toasted walnut pesto since I have a freezer full of frozen roasted peppers that want to be used. I could not resist adding a bit more cheese to the mix and since a creamy and tangy goat cheese goes perfectly with a sweet roasted red pepper pesto, it was the natural choice. (Tip: Make sure that you place the poached egg on top while still hot and the goat cheese will start to melt and get really dreamy!)
The quinoa cakes turned out really well and they held together much better than I expected! They were crispy on the outside and warm and soft on the inside with an amazing texture. I could easily eat them as if they were ‘chips’ with something to dip them into! The roasted red pepper pesto and goat cheese quinoa cakes with poached eggs were simply amazing! It was a real treat to start the day with a breakfast like this! Now that my first quinoa cakes are under my belt, I am just itching to make some more and my head it just full of ideas for different flavours! Spankopita, spinach and feta, quinoa cakes anyone?
Quinoa Cakes with Roasted Red Pepper and Walnut Pesto, Goat Cheese and a Poached Egg
Quinoa cakes served topped with roasted red pepper and toasted walnut pesto, goat cheese and a poached egg.
ingredients
- baby spinach leaves to taste
- 1 batch quinoa cakes – see below
- 1 batch roasted red pepper an toasted walnut pesto – see below
- 4 ounces goat cheese, sliced
- 4 eggs
- salt and pepper to taste
- chives to taste, sliced
directions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil and reduce the heat to medium.
- Crack an egg into a bowl, swirl the water in the pot and pour the egg from the bowl into the water and repeat for another egg.
- Let the eggs cook until the whites are set but the yolks are not, about 2-3 minutes and fish them out.
- Repeat for the remaining 2 eggs.
- Place the spinach leaves down 4 plates, top with quinoa cakes, roasted red pepper pesto, goat cheese and the poached eggs, season with salt and pepper and garnish with chives.
Quinoa Cakes
Quinoa used to make cakes or fritters that are fried until golden brown and crispy on the outside.
ingredients
- 1 cup quinoa, rinsed
- 1 1/2 cups water (or broth)
- 2 eggs, lightly beaten
- 1/4 cup onion, finely diced
- 1 clove garlic, chopped
- 1/4 cup flour (gluten-free for gluten-free)
- 1/4 cup parmigiano reggiano (parmesan cheese), grated
- salt and pepper to taste
- oil for frying
directions
- Simmer the quinoa in the water until the liquid has been absorbed and the quinoa is tender, about 15 minutes, turn off the heat, and let it sit, covered for 5 minutes.
- Mix the cooled quinoa with the eggs, onion, garlic, flour, parmesan, salt and pepper, adding more flour if required.
- Heat the oil in a pan over medium heat.
- Spoon the mixture into the pan, form patties of any size that you desire and cook until golden brown on both sides, about 2-4 minutes per side, before setting aside on paper towels to drain.
Roasted Red Pepper and Walnut Pesto
A roasted red pepper pesto with toasted walnuts and basil.
ingredients
- 2 roasted red peppers
- 1 handful basil leaves
- 1 clove garlic,
- 2 tablespoons walnuts, toasted
- 2 tablespoons parmigiano reggiano (parmesan cheese), grated
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste
directions
- Puree everything in a food processor.
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Chipotle Sweet Potato and Black Bean Quinoa Cakes with Creamy Avocado Sauce
You'll have to try buffalo chicken quinoa cakes and kimchi quinoa cakes. 🙂
And what about a quinoa grilled cheese?
Love your blog. 🙂
Mmm so yummy looking! Love it!
that looks good, I might try a quinoa cake in place of the biscuit for eggs benedict!
great post thanks
Scrumptious and so healthy! A wonderful combination.
Cheers,
Rosa
Yummy, the quinoa cakes look delicious! Golden and crisp.
That title may be a mouthful, but so will be my forkful when I make these! Sounds A.MA.Zing.
These looks great! Love the idea of using pesto, and a poached egg just makes everything right!
Ah love this idea! Especially the poached egg and goat cheese additions! Added to the list to try.
Yummy.
giftwithlove.com
oh yum ! Wish I saw talented enough to make it <3
I'm skeptical about quiona still, BUT the roasted red pepper pesto sounds FANTASTIC!
lovely!
Pretty much all of my favorite flavors in one dish!
Quinoa is one of my favorite ingredients, but I must say you have taken it to a whole new level with that beautiful poached egg and savory pesto.
This looks really tasty and healthy, too. I love it!
I love quinoa and with the poched egg this would be a great meatless meal!
My experience with quinoa hasn't been this sophisticated but wowza, this must be delicious.
My husband made this last night – it was fantastic! The only adaption he made was to fry the eggs over easy. Thanks for another great recipe!
Quinoa cakes?! Yum! This looks amazing.
I have been tempted more and more by quinoa from so many recipes posted on food blogs. Yours looks so fabulous – roasted red pepper-walnut pesto and goat cheese must add amazing flavor to a meal healthy and complete. Another perfect dish, Kevin!
I've been wanting to use some non wheat/corn grains more. I'll have to try this it looks SUPER YUMMY. If I love it as much as I think I will I'll have to add Quinoa to my garden this year 🙂
FYI, it's not 'chinese' new year. It's Lunar new year.
Hola Kevin, tienes un blog muy bonito, y unas recetas muy interesantes, seguro podré coger alguna idea para mi blog.
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Would buckwheat flour be suitable? And do you think skipping the Parmesan would would trying to candida diet friendify this?
Rowena: The buckwheat flour will work.
When I was a vegetarian [years back] I used to try to fit quinoa into my diet as often as I could for it's protein benfits, but I got so bored of it, not knowing how to spice it up. You have made me LOVE quinoa again and I can't thank you enough!
I've made these fritters twice now and not only are they easy to make, but they're deliciously addictive!
Making the cakes today but adding Basil to them.
Steph
Made your recipe last night and it turned out fantastic. Will definitely have to make these for company! Thanks for sharing
Has anyone ever made these ahead of time? What's the best way to reheat?
Michael: Yes you could make these ahead of time and reheat them in the oven or in the mircowave.
Hi, is there anyway that these fritters could be modified to be baked instead of fried?
Anonymous: Yes bake then on a lightly greased baking pan in a preheat 425F oven until golden brown and crispy, about 15-20 minutes, flipping one in the middle.
These look great. I fell for quinoa cakes when I first discovered any at sevenspoons (recipe from Heidi Swanson). Since then I reprouce them regualarly. They are great to be eaten cold as well or taken to picknick. [http://www.multikulinarisch.es/567-quinoa-patties.html]