Sunday Recipe: Kale and Hazelnut Quinoa Cakes

A healthier alternative to your weekly hamburger patty.

Somewhere in between burgers and falafel you get quinoa cakes. The benefits? These ones are gluten-free, vegan and packed with protein, but you’d never guess it. Serve instead of a veggie burger, or throw on top of a salad and drizzle with tahini.

Whatever you do, you should probably make a double batch.

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup uncooked quinoa
  • 1 cup finely chopped kale
  • 1/2 cup Cannellini or Great Northern beans
  • 1/2 cup roasted hazelnuts
  • 3 cloves of pressed garlic
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 3 tablespoons buckwheat flour
  • Oil for frying

Directions

  • Combine 1 cup water, a dash of salt and quinoa in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cover. Cook until water has boiled off, about 15 minutes.
  • In a food processor, combine kale, beans, hazelnuts, garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper. Mix until a pureed consistency and pour into a separate bowl.
  • Add in cooked quinoa and buckwheat flour and mix together until well-blended.
  • Place bowl in refrigerator to chill for about 30 minutes. Note: you don’t have to do this, but when the mixture is colder it is easier to form into patties. If you want to fry them up directly, make them a little smaller.
  • Form mixture into patties and fry for 2-4 minutes on each side, until they are crisp.

Yields about 6 medium sized cakes depending on the size you make them.

Every month on Sunday Recipe, we bring you a new theme of recipes, perfect for whipping up on a Sunday. For March it’s all about revamping classics into healthier versions. Enjoy!

Anna Brones

Anna Brones is a food + travel writer with a love for coffee and bikes. She is the author of The Culinary Cyclist and Fika: The Art of the Swedish Coffee Break. Catch her weekly column, Foodie Underground.