I’ve been on a culinary quest to make good food even better. Of course starting out with quality ingredients is a key element in cooking. But what can make your food even better then what it is? Technique. In this recipe I sweat the peppers, onion, and garlic before adding them to the quinoa. The trick is then to add salt to the vegetables that are sweating. This brings out more of the natural flavor in the vegetables.
Quinoa
And of course, because I live in the Southwest, and learned to cook here, I’ve got to put my Sonoran spin on these tasty little treats.
- 2 tbsp Sunflower oil
- 1 cup Quinoa, cooked to a sticky state
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 1 green bell pepper, diced
- 2-3 jalapenos, diced (less if you want mild, more if you like the heat)
- 3-2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tsp coriander, ground
- 2 tsp lime juice
- 2 tbsp Golden Flax seeds, soaked in 4 tbsp warm water for 10 minutes
- 2 tbsp GF Flour
- 1/2 cup black beans, cooked
- Salt & Pepper to taste
- Oil for frying
- Heat up a skillet, and add sunflower oil.
- When the oil is hot, add the peppers, onions, jalapenos, and garlic.
- Sweat until they are translucent.
- Cool them down and add to the prepared Quinoa.
- Add all the spices, flax seeds, lime juice, flour, black beans, salt and pepper. Mix thoroughly.
- Lay out a sheet tray or cookie sheet. Spray with cooking spray. Make patties approximately 1 1/2 inches in diameter, and place on cookie sheet. Alternately, weigh the patties out to 2 ounces for dinner size, or one ounce for slider size. Put in the freezer to set them up. This prevents the cakes from falling apart during the cooking process.
- Heat up a heavy bottomed skillet. Add a thin layer of cooking oil. Fry the patties on both sides to a golden brown. Drain on paper towels. Serve with Ginger-Lime Jicama salad and fresh fruit.
- Serve these to your family, they’ll fall in love with you all over again.
