Pesto Quinoa Patties

Pesto Quinoa Patties

Note. The pesto used to make these patties is not pesto in the strictest sense, as there are no pinenuts involved. Plus there’s the onion. It’s kind of a milder pesto with a oniony taste that I believe complements quinoa much better than regular pesto.

Ingredients

Makes 35 bite size patties (or 18 larger ones)

2 ½ cups / 12 oz / 340 gr cooked quinoa (you’ll need to cook a little over 1 cup of quinoa)

4 eggs, beaten

1 small onion, quartered

2 cloves garlic, peeled

½ cup fresh basil leaves (about 2 handfuls)

⅓ cup / 0.5 oz / 15 gr grated Parmesan-Reggiano cheese

1 cup / 3.5 oz / 100 gr whole wheat breadcrumbs

1 teaspoon fine grain sea salt

1 tablespoon olive oil

Directions

Bring a small pot of water to a boil. Add garlic and onion and boil for 2 minutes. Use a slotted spoon or strainer to fish the garlic and onion from the water and transfer them to the bowl of a food processor. Add basil, parmesan, salt and 2 tablespoons of water and process until it reaches a pesto like consistency (it will be a bit watery, that’s what you want).

In a medium bowl combine quinoa and eggs. Add pesto and stir until evenly mixed. Stir in breadcrumbs and let sit for 15 minutes so that breadcrumbs can absorb the moisture.

Scoop 1 heaping tablespoon (or 2 tablespoons for larger patties) of quinoa mixture and with dampened hands form patties.

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet with a thick bottom. Add patties leaving some room between each. Cover and cook on medium to low heat for around 6 minutes or until the patties are browned.

With the help of a spatula, gently flip the patties and cook on the other side for 7 minutes. If there’s no browning, turn the heat up and cook until golden.

Remove from the skillet, cool on a wire while you cook the other patties.

Serve hot, warm or cold with a tasty sauce (such as Sriracha) on the side.