Quinoa Patties AKA Veggie Burger Tastiness

Hey everyone! I just got back from my vacation, and even while I was down there, the fam was trying out the ATK drunken noodle recipe! We couldn't find large rice noodles, just vermicelli. It's amazing how this dish needs larger rice noodles to soak up that delicious sauce.

Anywho! While I was on vacation, the possibility of making quinoa patties came up, but it never occurred. After making it today, I'm ok that cooking them didn't work out.

Don't get me wrong! It's certainly a tasty dish. The patties just took a LOT longer than I expected. There's a little chunk of prep work at the beginning: green onions, garlic, quinoa.

One thing I really appreciated was using the oil from the sun-dried tomatoes to cook the green onions and garlic. Once those were ready, I added the quinoa and water....... and then I realized that I didn't have a cover for my pan... So I ended up using my cookie sheet. !!! Warning !!! Use an oven mitt to uncover the cookie sheet. Or. Better yet. Use a skillet that has a cover.

After letting the water boil down 20 minutes, then you have to wait about 30 more minutes for the quinoa to cool down. Meanwhile, more prep: cheese, sun-dried tomatoes, spinach, lemon zest and juice, even separating eggs.  

Combine all that good stuff together when the quinoa cools, pat out some patties, and then put them into the fridge to cool for another 30 minutes.

In the ATK cookbook, it says to have the patties cook 8-10 minutes on each side, and I underestimated my oven top.

My "medium" is just too hot, and I can't get distracted by watching the FIFA world cup. Appearance-wise, my patties definitely fell flat. Flavor-wise, they did very well: a tad salty, but savory. The lemon juice and zest kept the patties light, while the sun-dried tomatoes were delicious and a vital ingredient. I found adding mustard and sriracha sauce to compliment the patties was a nice touch and zip.

The patties can be very crumbly. Be gentle when you flip, or suddenly you'll deal with a quinoa crumble.

In honor of the World Cup, I'm pulling a Suarez as I dig in. 

Enjoy! Go USA!