Do you have an investment piece? Wait… do you even know what an investment piece is?
Don’t feel bad… I’m just figuring this out myself. An investment piece is a bonkers awesome, typically super expensive, designer dress that one (say… you!) might wear to a gala, ball, or um… red carpet event (because people totally do that). Can you wear it to a wedding? Only if you don’t look better than the bride.
Do you own an investment piece? ….anytime a dress is called a ‘piece’, I know I can’t afford it… let’s just be real.
I don’t own a piece.
I do, however, own one Le Creuset pot in a dusty purple. I have yet to figure out how to wear this to a gala… but luckily I haven’t been invited to any galas.
I don’t anticipate owning a piece. I do anticipate a lot of blazers, summer shorts, and loose tank tops in my warm weather future.
While I may not have the luxury of investment pieces… I do have the luxury of just enough time to make these special little quinoa cakes. They have kale in them! They’re divine and sophisticated! Just like galas.. but without the control top hose (…yea, that’s totally still a thing).
These little gems might remind you of the Lemon, Olive, and Parsley Quinoa Cakes I made last year. They were a good idea. Kale is totally a good idea too!
Start with quinoa. I found a lovely rainbow quinoa… but you can use whatever you have on hand. Fresh Dino Kale is dark, leafy, and full of health. Sun dried tomatoes are a powerhouse of flavor.
Parsley and cheese too! I love the bright herby-ness that parsley adds to these cakes.
I also sauteed up some onions and garlic, along with the kale. Flavor on flavor on flavor when it comes to quinoa.
I found that a little cookie scoop was the best way to manipulate these little cakes from dough, to ball, to patty form.
If you don’t have a cookie scoop, clean slightly damp hands will do.
These quinoa cakes take some time in the kitchen. There’s a lot of little things going on. Cooking the quinoa. Cleaning the kale. Chopping. Sauteing. Cooling. Chopping a bit more. Fixing. Shaping. Frying.
Please don’t let all these little steps keep you from this dish! They’re great! Healthy, hearty, and filling…. and can totally be made for any meal of the day! Feel free to add green olives and lemon zest… these patties can happily take on additional flavors.
The best part about this recipe is that is makes a generous amount of cakes. Fry them off for a party, or save some of the uncooked quinoa mixture and fry them off for a few days. They make great veggie patties (although they’re not firm enough to withstand a grill). They make great breakfast snacks. They’re good warm or cold.
I served mine at lunch with a squeeze of fresh lemon, some capers to snack on, fresh spinach (to simulate a salad), and thick balsamic vinegar.
Sure, they take a bit of time… but these cakes are totally my new investment piece. Time… not money. Kale… not clothes.
I just love them!
Kale and Quinoa Cakes
makes about 2 dozen small cakes
recipe adapted from Super Natural Every Day
1 1/2 cups raw quinoa
2 1/4 cups water
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 large eggs, beaten
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 bunch (about 3 cups) chopped dino kale
splash of apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/3 cup coarsely chopped sun-dried tomatoes
1/3 cup chopped parsley
1 cup panko bread crumbs
1/2 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper or crushed red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon water
2 tablespoon olive oil for frying, add a bit more as necessary
lemon wedges, olives or capers, spicy mustard, and greens for serving
Place dry quinoa in a fine mesh strainer. Wash under cool water for a few minutes. Quinoa needs to be rinsed or it tastes dirty.
In a medium saucepan place rinsed quinoa, water, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Place over medium heat and bring to a boil. Cover, decrease the heat, and simmer for about 25 t0 30 minutes, until the quinoa is tender. Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature. We’ll need about 3 cups of cooked quinoa for the recipe.
In a small bowl, whisk eggs and set aside.
In a medium sauté man, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onions and cook until translucent, about 4 minutes. Add garlic and saute for 1 minute. Add kale and toss until just slightly wilted, about 1 minutes. Remove from heat and add a splash of vinegar. Place kale mixture in a large bowl with prepared quinoa. Allow to cool to room temperature. You can speed up this process in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Add cheese, sun-dried tomatoes, parsley, break crumbs, salt, and pepper. Add beaten eggs and stir until all of the quinoa mixture is moistened. Add water to thoroughly moisten mixture. Quinoa should be slightly wet so it doesn’t dry out during cooking.
Scoop out mixture by the 2 tablespoonful. (I used a small ice cream scoop to scoop the mixture right into the hot pan.) Use clean, moist fingers to form into a patty. Create as many patties as you’d like. (Rinse your hands after every few patties… it makes making patties easier.)
In a large skillet over medium low heat, heat olive oil. If you pan is large enough, add four to six patties to the hot pan. You’ll need a bit of room to successfully flip them.
Cook on each side until beautifully browned, about 4 to 5 minutes on each side. Low heat helps the quinoa cakes cook slowly. Brown on each side then remove to a paper towel lined plate.
Serve warm with a lemon wedge, mustard, fresh spinach, and salty capers. It’s like a deconstructed salad. Serve them any way you’d like.
Also, the quinoa mixture can be left, uncooked in the fridge for a few days. Cook as necessary. Fresh quinoa cakes with fried eggs are delicious!
Kathleen
These were so good! I didn’t have bread crumbs on hand but I did have Triscuits so I mashed them and they worked great. What a wonderful recipe!
nadine
wow, these look SO awesomly delicious! got to try them soon. very soon. thanks for sharing!!
Cali
Oh man, I couldn’t get these guys to stay patty-ish when I flipped them so it turned into stir fried quinoa. Thanks for the super tasty recipe!!
Katie
I tried out this recipe last night and absolutely loved it! It’s probably one of the best things I’ve eaten in a LONG time, and I made it myself! I love how the recipe yields so much that can be refrigerated and cooked in smaller quantities as the week goes by. My co-workers are very jealous of my lunch today. Thank you for posting this!
Twinkle Teacher
Perfect! What a wink from life, as I’d call it. I was actually looking for a new blog to follow about happiness/joy and this one popped up with all this yummy food! AND I have been wracking my brains thinking of more ways to use quinoa and WHACK! Here it is. And that makes me happy. And I’m all about the happy. Look for twinkles, follow the winks, find your happy.
Jen Laceda
ooh! i’ve been seeing quinoa cake recipes around! i haven’t tried yet, but i am very excited to start frying up these babies!
Sarah
Are these good baked or broiled? My tiny, poorly-ventilated Manhattan kitchen makes frying very difficult for me.
joythebaker
i have not tried this recipe baked or broiled so i can’t give you an accurate answer.
Wendy Brunson
If you try baking them, I’d love to hear the results. I had to use a lot of oil when I made them, so I wondered if baking might be an option instead.
Rebecca
Just made these with millet instead of quinoa. Amazingly creamy and delicious!! Perfect quick dinner. :]
Mallory
I made your first quinoa cake recipe and tried a few spin-offs of my one, loved them all. This version looks great too!
Cookie and Kate
That does it! I’ve got to try Heidi’s quinoa cakes. Your kale version looks awesome.
And oh, will you please wear Le Creuset sometime? I don’t know how to make it happen, but if anyone can, it’s you.
emmycooks
I love these lil’ cakes. I most recently made them with feta, corn, and a pile of herbs: https://emmycooks.com/2012/03/16/quinoa-cakes-with-cheese-garlic-and-herbs/ I think kale would be so good here, though–I’m trying your version next.
aneelee
i made a variation of these tonight for dinner with spinach in place of the kale (what we had on hand) and minus the sun-dried tomatoes and they were fabulous! 8yo even deemed them tater-tot like which i found awesomely hysterical, but perfect.
thanks for the recipe!
Leslie
Made these for dinner tonight and they were absolutely delicious! I served them over a bed of arugula with a poached egg on top, and I seriously can’t wait to make them again!