Quinoa Patties with Shrimp, Kale, and Feta

Two Mondays a month, I help run a mentoring and education program for pregnant teenagers in Albany, called "Strong Mom." A couple of medical students and I started this program last year, and I have really enjoyed being a part of the life changes these teens are going through. In order to encourage healthy eating, we bring home-cooked dinner to our evening classes. While researching nutrient-dense foods, I discovered quinoa for the first time last year, and let me tell you, it's amazing! We have incorporated it into many recipes and the young ladies love it! 

Since we typically make crock-pot meals, I haven't made quinoa patties for our program, but I decided to give them a shot at home because they sounded delicious.

I started with this recipe, but made some ingredient changes based on what I had in the fridge/freezer, and what needed to be used. They were fantastic. My mouth is watering just thinking about them!

Ingredients:

3 cups cooked quinoa

4 eggs, beaten

1 teaspoon onion powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper (optional)

1 sweet onion, finely chopped/diced

1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese

1/2 Tablespoon minced garlic

1/4 cup fresh cilantro, minced

15 cooked shrimp, cooled, chopped

3 kale leaves, washed, finely chopped

1 cup bread crumbs (I used about 3/4 cup Italian Style Bread crumbs and 1/4 cup plain Panko bread crumbs.) More bread crumbs can be added if needed.

Water, if needed

2 Tablespoons olive oil (for cooking - add more if needed)

Steps:

1. In a medium bowl, combine the quinoa, eggs, onion powder, salt, and crushed red pepper. 
2. Add the onion, cheese, garlic, cilantro, shrimp, and kale. Mix well.
3. Add the bread crumbs, half a cup at a time, mixing in between. Wait a few minutes and decide if you need to add more bread crumbs. The goal is to find the right consistency to form little patties (about 1-inch high and 3-inches across). If your mixture is too thick, add a little bit of water. If it is too moist, add some more bread crumbs. This isn't an exact science - you have to figure out what will work best for you!

1. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat.
2. Using your hands, make your quinoa patties and place them into the hot skillet. Just like making cookies, you'll most likely only be able to cook 6-8 patties at once, and will have to do at least 2 batches. 
3. Cover the patties and let them cook for about 7-10 minutes. Using a spatula, carefully flip the patties. The bottom of the patties should be a nice brown color. Let them cook on the other side for about 5-7 minutes depending on the thickness. If you want, you can flip them a second time to get the bottom a darker brown.

1. Remove the patties from the skillet and let them cool on a plate or wire rack (like cookies).
2. While your first batch is cooling, get started on batch number 2!
3. If you would like to enjoy fresh quinoa patties, you can cover your quinoa mixture and place it in the fridge for a couple of days until you are ready to cook and eat them.

Serving:

Serve the quinoa patties warm. They will reheat in the microwave, but fresh ones taste the best. We enjoyed ours with some fresh cod and sauteed kale with mushrooms on the side.

Here is the recipe as a JPEG to print:

That's it! I'm looking forward to trying many other quinoa patty varieties in the near future. I'm thinking some crab meat would be wonderful as a sort of quinoa-crab cake!

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