Broccoli Quinoa Cakes with Spiced Yogurt Sauce
veggie nuggets for all!
This is a recipe I come back to time and time again, especially when I want something fun and kid-like for dinner. It’s nothing fancy, just some steamed broccoli & quinoa, held together by an egg and some breadcrumbs, flavored with cheddar and spices, and pan-fried so they are toasty and almost too hot— a problem I solve by thorough dunking in this sublime, cumin-y yogurt sauce.
The recipe comes from the wonderful Sylvia Fountaine over at Feasting At Home, and I tweaked almost nothing except for making up my own dipping sauce. I didn’t want to have to wash the food processor twice for the same recipe, so I skipped her suggested sauces and came up with this simple yogurt sauce, which just needs a little stir.
One puzzle: Sylvia suggests that the recipe makes 4 patties, and when I follow her directions exactly, I come out with at least a dozen. I have no idea how big her patties are— she simply said, “large” — but splitting the mixture into 4ths would’ve made some very large patties indeed. I can’t imagine cooking those huge monsters all the way through without burning the bottoms, so I’ve opted for smaller patties. This does lengthen the active cooking time, though, as it made several batches. Your choice on this— or perhaps you have a bigger pan than I do, and can cook a whole litter of small patties at once. Sylvia also gives the option of moving half-cooked patties to a 350-degree oven for 10-ish minutes to finish up, which I haven’t tried, but that’s another option if you don’t mind more dishes.
Either way you fry them, these lovely little broccoli cakes are super delicious. Sylvia suggests serving them with a fresh salad, which feels just right.
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Broccoli Quinoa Cakes with Spiced Yogurt Sauce & Arugula Salad
Cooking time: 1 hour
Serves: 4-6
For Dietary Restrictions
Gluten free: use gluten-free breadcrumbs
Dairy free: use dairy-free cheese
Kids Can Help
Wash & separate broccoli florets; measure ingredients; stir the sauce. Older kids can help assemble and cook the patties.
Ingredients
For the quinoa cakes:
5 cups broccoli florets
½ cup uncooked quinoa
1 scallion (green onion)
¼ cup fresh parsley
1 egg
1 teaspoon salt
¼ tsp pepper
1 garlic clove
½ cup breadcrumbs or almond flour, divided
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
Olive oil for searing
For the yogurt sauce:
½ tsp salt
½ tsp cumin
½ tsp ground coriander
1 5.3 oz container plain Greek yogurt (I recommend 5% fat)
2 garlic cloves
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 Tbsp lemon juice
For the salad:
5 oz arugula
1 head red cabbage
1 English cucumber
10 oz cherry tomatoes
Tools
Small pot with lid
Large pot with lid
Cutting board
Chef knife
Food processor
Silicone spatula for scraping
Flat spatula for flipping
Large cast iron (or other non-stick) skillet
Directions
Step 1
Cook the quinoa: In a small pot with a lid, bring 1 cup of water to a boil. As soon as it starts to boil, add the quinoa and stir, then cover and turn heat to the lowest setting. Simmer for about 15 minutes until the quinoa is tender and all the water has been absorbed; set aside.
Step 2
Wash and chop the broccoli into large florets. Heat ¾ cup of water in a large skillet until boiling, then add the broccoli and cover. Steam for about 5 minutes until the broccoli is tender and bright green; transfer to a colander and allow to drain while you move on to the next steps.
Step 3
Make the sauce: first, peel the garlic, then mince using a chef knife (or use a garlic press). Mix the garlic with the yogurt, ½ tsp each salt, ground coriander, and cumin, 2 Tbsp olive oil, and 1 Tbsp lemon juice. Stir until well blended. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed; set aside.
Step 4
Make the salad with the arugula, thin-sliced red cabbage, cucumber, and cherry tomatoes.
Step 5
Lay a clean, dry dish towel on the counter and spread the drained broccoli on it, patting it gently with the edges of the towel to remove any excess moisture. Transfer the broccoli to the food processor, then add the egg, scallion, ¼ cup fresh parsley, 1 tsp of salt, ¼ tsp black pepper, 1 garlic clove, ¼ cup of breadcrumbs, and 1 cup of cheddar cheese to the food processor. Blend until the mixture is uniform, then add the cooked quinoa and blend for just a few seconds until well combined. The mixture should be slightly sticky and hold together well. If it is too wet, add 1 Tbsp of breadcrumbs at a time until it comes together.
Step 6
Place your skillet on the stove and turn the heat to medium-low. Add 1-2 tsp of olive oil.
Step 7
Quickly form the patties: Scoop about ⅓ cup of the mixture at a time, forming it into a disk slightly smaller than your palm and about ¾ inch thick. Once the oil is hot, add the patties to the pan as you form them and cook until they are nicely browned; flip and cook the underside until it has browned and the patty has puffed slightly, then set aside. Repeat until all the patties have been cooked.
Note: if the quinoa cake doesn’t puff, it’s ok— you can also test doneness with a meat thermometer. The cakes are done at 160 degrees in the center.
Step 8
Serve with the dipping sauce and salad.