quinoa recipes – Busy in Brooklyn

Call them burgers, call them patties, call them cakes – call them whatever you want. So long as you make them. Because they’re gooooood.

I call them burgers because burgers are my thing. And because it’s summer (finally!) and that just makes me want to eat more burgers. Meat burgers are great, don’t get me wrong, but sometimes you just want something light for lunch. Or dinner. Or hey, even breakfast (OMG can you imagine a fried egg dripping down this thing?!).

So back to my burger obsession, lets talk about it. I won a recipe contest for this vegetarian cheeseburger, I’m also in love with this Paleo burger, and don’t even get me started on this spinach falafel burger. These chickpea burgers are awesome on the grill, and these sweet pepper ones are not too bad either. Told you I had a burger obsession.

I quite like quinoa too. And I just about put cajun seasoning on everything – like roasted chickpeas, and broccoli, blackened fish and chicken. Yummo.

And of course I like things spicy too, so my easy jalapeno crema packs a great punch and an added brightness that goes great with these patties.

One of the things I love about these is how great they are for packed lunches. Picnic at the beach? check. Quick lunch on the go, check. Easy bites for vacation, yup.

And speaking of vacation, I’m working hard on keeping things as healthy as possible as we slowly shed our sweaters and jackets, inching our way towards summer. With the holidays behind us, there are no more excuses, who’s with me?!

How are YOU planning to eat light and healthy this summer? Share your ideas with me in the comments below!

Cajun Quinoa Burgers

2 cups cooked quinoa*
1 cup black beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup finely diced red pepper
2 scallions, chopped
Heaping 1/2 cup flavored bread crumbs
3 eggs
generous 1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1/4 tsp chili powder
salt and pepper, to taste
light olive oil, for frying

Method:

Add all ingredients, besides for the eggs, to a bowl and mix until combined. Taste the mixture and adjust seasoning as desired. Add eggs, and using a scoop or measuring cup, portion out the quinoa into patties. Fry until golden on both sides. Drain on paper towels.

*To cook, rinse 3/4 cup quinoa thoroughly in a fine-mesh sieve. Add to a pot with 1 1/2 cups water and 1/4 tsp salt. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for 15-20 minutes.

NOTE: If you find the mixture too loose, you can pulse it in the food processor to make it more sticky.

GLUTEN FREE OPTION: use corn flake crumbs instead of bread crumbs.

VARIATION: Use chickpeas instead of black beans. You will need to pulse the mixture in the food processor so the mixture sticks together.

Jalapeño crema

6 oz sour cream
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 jalapeño, seeds and veins removed, finely minced
Juice of 1/2 lime
1 tsp lime zest

Method:

Add all the ingredients to a bowl and stir to combine.

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The first time I ever tasted Pad Thai was when I attended the Center for Kosher Culinary Arts, last year. It was pasta day, I think, and we were experimenting with different types – including rice noodles. We made our own chili paste from scratch and it was so hot, I cried just from blending it. I took one bite of the Pad Thai and my mouth was on fire! Even though my tongue could barely take it, there was just something about the stuff and I kept going back for more (and refilling my glass of water!). Even with cilantro (one of my least favorite ingredients) the stuff was just. that. good. It wasn’t long before I was making pad Thai at home for my whole family to enjoy.

Now when I started to ease up on my carb-load, I knew I had to come up with a lower carb pad Thai recipe to enjoy. Enter quoina – the super grain. Or super seed, I should say! Quinoa, after all, is not a grain or legume – it’s called a Pseudo-cereal and is botanically related to spinach and beets. So although some refer to it as an ancient grain, you can rest assured that this protein-rich superfood is a great low-carb alternative to pasta and rice.

They may teach you to make pad Thai in culinary school. But they don’t tell you the obvious things, like not to write your recipes on scrap pieces of paper. When I was developing this quinoa pad Thai dish, I hit the nail right on the head – it was perfect! I wrote the recipe out on the edge of my calendar, and what do you think happened? I promptly forgot about that golden combination of ingredients, and weeks later, when I went to look up something in the calendar, I decided to rip out all the old months that had already passed. And there my recipe went – crumpled up amid egg shells and dirty plates – right in the garbage.

I realized the error of my ways the next day and I ran outside to see if the garbage truck had taken out the garbage yet. Oh yes, I was right about ready to put on some gloves and sort through the trash! No such luck, my garbage had already been picked up and my prized recipe was doomed for the garbage dump. So, I did what any pad-Thai-obsessed-girl-on-a-diet would do…I made it again. That’ll teach me never to write my recipes on the edge of my calendar! (Did I mention this is not the first time this has happened?)

Quinoa Pad Thai

1 cup quinoa
1/2 red pepper, thinly sliced
1 small carrot, julienned (I use this julienne peeler)
3 tsp peanut oil, divided
2 eggs
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb. ground chicken or turkey (dark meat preferred)
3 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp honey
1 tbsp lime juice
1 tbsp sambal oelek (garlic chili sauce) or sriracha
1 cup bean sprouts
3 scallions, chopped
1/2 cup cilantro
1/3 cup peanuts
lime wedges, for garnish
sriracha, for garnish

Method:

Place the quinoa in a small pot with 2 cups of water. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes.

In a small bowl, mix the soy sauce, honey, lime juice and sambal oelek. Set aside.

Heat 1 tsp of peanut oil in a wok and stir fry the carrots and peppers just until slightly softened, 1 minute. Remove from the pan. Whisk eggs, add a bit more peanut oil to the wok and scramble. Remove from the pan. Add a bit more peanut oil and add garlic. Saute just until softened and add ground turkey. Cook until turkey is no longer pink and add the soy sauce mixture. Return the carrots, peppers and eggs to the wok and stir to combine. Add the quinoa and bean sprouts and stir to incorporate. Sprinkle scallions, cilantro and peanuts over the top and garnish with lime wedges and a drizzle of sriracha.

Tag: quinoa recipes

Cajun Quinoa Burgers

Quinoa Pad Thai