I personally try to only make one meal a week with meat for financial, environmental, and personal reasons. Many people are not quite willing to do that, but they can at least plan to have one day of being a vegetarian per week, enter Meatless Monday. This is a great recipe for that day of the week without meat. Quinoa is a complete protein, just like meat which is why it is a great vegetarian option. I have tried the below recipe a few times and it is delicious. It is also good to make extra and freeze for later. It is based off of a recipe from 101 Cookbooks. Enjoy it with avocado, sprouts, lettuce and your favorite bun.
Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups cooked quinoa, cooled (about 2 cups dried)
5 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt
1/3 cup diced green onion
1/3 cup chopped parsley
1 cup chopped kale (or spinach or chard)
1 yellow diced onion
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoons baking powder (if cooking at high altitude then cut this amount in half)
1 cup whole grain bread crumbs
1/3 cup crumbled feta
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil or butter
Steps:
- Preheat oven to 400F
- Combine the quinoa, eggs, and salt in a medium bowl. Stir in the green onion, parsley, kale, onion, garlic, and cumin. Stir well.
- Add the baking powder and bread crumbs, stir, and let sit for a few minutes so the crumbs can absorb some of the moisture.
- Gently stir in the feta.
- At this point, you should have a mixture you can easily form into twelve 1-inch / 2.5cm thick patties. I err on the very moist side because it makes for a not-overly-dry patty, but you can add more bread crumbs, a bit at a time, to firm up the mixture, if need be. Conversely, a bit more beaten egg or water can be used to moisten the mixture. If you’re still having trouble getting the mixture to hold – mix in flour, a couple tablespoons at a time.
- Oil a baking sheet, and arrange the patties with a bit of space between each. Bake for ~20 minutes, or until the bottoms are brown. Flip and bake for another 5 minutes.
- Enjoy hot, or allow to cool to room temperature on a cooling rack.
Makes about a dozen patties.
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