Quinoa Cakes!
After I made these and started typing up the recipe, I thought that these cakes didn’t sound outstandingly healthy. They need some herbs. I think next time I’ll add rosemary, maybe thyme as well. I’d make an herbed ghee to mix in with the quinoa. But then I realized, these are little powerhouses of nutrition. They may not necessarily be medicinal, but are packed with micro and macro nutrients.
Complete Protein, high in fiber, low glycemic, contains quercetin and kaempferol(link to download full text), and large amount of manganese, magnesium, phosphorus and zinc
Well, first of all they’re black. Black foods are jing foods. Their color comes from primarily three anthocyanincs: malvidin, delphinidin and petunidin. They’re also high in protein, fiber, molybdenum and zinc.
These hens from Apricot Lane Farms free-ranged around a farm that operates as one organism. So obviously, these eggs are the best. Look at the deep orange yolk! Eggs are a great source of cholesterol, tryptophan, choline, lutein and zeaxanthin. Eggs are also great for methylation and phase 2 liver detoxification. However, an eggs’ nutrition is heat sensitive, so you will lose some in these cakes. In general, I cook the white and leave the yolk raw.
I love alliums. I eat garlic and onions on a pretty regular basis. Their high sulphur content is also beneficial for phase 2 liver detox. Allicin is what gives garlic it’s smell, slight color and extraordinary health benefits. Allicin is garlic’s defense against pests, and works as an antiviral, fungal, bacterial and antiprotozoal To create allicin, garlic needs to be crush and/or chopped. Allicin is the result of alliin that’s been broken down by alliinase.
What is there to say. Ghee is amazing. Omegas 3 and 9, Vitamins A, D, E and K. I think Bruce Lipton could market his own ghee. I mentioned him in a post before, and his argument that the intelligence of the cell lies in the membrane. I agree with him. So the cell can only be as good as the membrane. And what are cell membranes made out of? Fat!
Olive oil contains oleuropein, one of several phenols found in olive oil. Most of olive oil’s antioxidant activity comes from the phenols and carotenoids. The fats are good too!
A note about Parmigiano Reggiano:
Parmigiano Reggiano is a legally defined name. Like Champagne, Parmigiano Reggiano comes only from a specific region in Italy, and is required to be grass-fed and unpasteurized. The only downside I find from this cheese, is that it’s not 100% whole milk. It’s a mix of whole milk and part skim. Something else that some might not agree with, is the use of animal derived rennet, making this cheese not technically vegetarian. I think animal derived rennet is superior, because the milk is being digested by the enzymes it was expecting.
If you think these cakes are something you might want to try, the recipe is below.
Quinoa Bean Cakes
Makes roughly 18 Cakes
2x 500mL distilled water
300mL (1.25c) dry sprouted quinoa
300mL Almond Flour
200mL Parmigiano Reggiano
200mL (4/5c) dry turtle beans
5 eggs
1 yellow onion
1 red bell pepper
4 cloves garlic
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp sea salt
3 Tbsp ghee
Black pepper to taste
This recipe takes a little bit of time to prepare, but I think it’s worth it. I find these quinoa cakes versatile and keep well. While they are simple, there are several steps.
- Soak or Sprout Beans
I would’ve preferred to use sprouted turtle beans, but I didn’t want to wait, and I didn’t think to go to the Santa Monica Farmer’s Market yesterday. It's the only place I've seen them for sale. Instead, I soaked 200mL (4/5c) in 500mL distilled water for about 5 hours. Distilled water cuts down on soak time. If that’s not fast enough, you can do a quick soak which entails covering the beans in a pot with cold water and bringing it to a boil for a minute, then turning the stove off and letting the beans sit in the warm water for about an hour. The beans still need to be cooked after that.
2. Make Sprouted Quinoa
I made 300mL dry TruRoots Organic Sprouted Quinoa. Add 2 Tbsp olive oil, 1.5 tsp sea salt and black pepper to taste. I’m not going to go into the process of sprouting quinoa, as it’s easy enough to find sprouted quinoa for sale.
3. Sauté Onion
Melt a tablespoon of ghee in a pan on low-medium heat. Add a diced onion, sautéing until translucent. Add crushed and diced garlic. Continue sautéing until satisfied.
4. Roast a Red Bell Pepper
Cut off the top and bottom. Cut into quarters, remove innards/seeds. Place skin up on a baking sheet under the broiler for 9-10 minutes. When the skin is sufficiently black, take them out and place them under a glass bowl. This will help remove the skin. When it’s cool enough to handle, dice it. After broiling, set the oven to 400°F.
5. Whisk 5 Eggs
6. Combine Everything
In a large bowl, combine the quinoa, beans, vegetables, almond flour, cheese and remaining 1.5 Tbsp sea salt. Mix thoroughly. When cool, stir in whisked eggs.
7. Bake
This time I made then right in the tin. Sometimes when I have paper inserts, I use those. I filled the muffin tin to the top, and then sprinkled a little extra cheese on top. Bake for ~25 minutes.
8. Let Cool, Pan Fry in Ghee
Melt the rest of the ghee, and pan fry high and quick, just until it gets a little crispy.
9. Enjoy with a Fermented Food
These were a little heavy, so I had fermented salsa mashed with avocado as the side. But I ate everything before I remembered to take a picture.
Thank you for reading!