Categories: April2012, Healthy, Meatless Mondays, Quinoa, Whole Grains

Ingredients

• 1.5 cups raw quinoa
• 2.5 cups water or vegetable broth
• 1 small yellow onion, finely diced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/3 cup grated Romano cheese
• 1/3 cup coarsely chopped Kalamata olives
• 1/3 cup chopped parsley
• 1 Tbsp. lemon zest
• 1 cup panko bread crumbs
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• freshly ground pepper or crushed red pepper flakes, to taste (I used a heaping 1/4 tsp. or red pepper)
• 4 large eggs, lightly beaten
• about 2 Tbsp. cornmeal
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• additional lemon wedges, for serving

Directions

1. Place quinoa in a mesh strainer and rinse under cold water for about 2 minutes. Bring quinoa and water or broth to boil in a medium saucepan (if using water, also add 1/2 tsp. salt). Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes or until quinoa is tender. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature.

2. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine the eggs, onion, garlic, cheese, olives, parsley, lemon zest, panko, salt and pepper. Add the cooked quinoa, and then the eggs, stirring until moistened (if your mixture needs to be a little wetter, add about 1 Tbsp. water).

3. Sprinkle cornmeal over a plate or baking sheet. Form the quinoa mixture into patties, and place on plate. Sprinkle additional cornmeal on top of the patties (this keeps the patties together better and also provides a little extra crispiness).

4. Heat some of the olive oil in a nonstick skillet over medium heat (this depends on how big your patties and pan are, and how many batches you need to do). Add the patties to the hot oil and cook until well browned, about 4 minutes per side. Place on a paper towel-lined plate to remove an excess grease.

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