Quinoa Portabella Cakes
By: KC Quaretti-Lee
Published: Sunday, August 29, 2010 - 1:56pm

Ingredients




1 1/2 cups cooked quinoa
1 sweet onion chopped
2 portabella mushrooms chopped
1 clove garlic chopped
1 egg
2 ounces whipped cream cheese
12 fresh sage leaves+ 5 for garnish
 cup fresh grated parmiggiano (4 T for the mix, the rest for the breading)
 cup bread crumbs
 cup panko
Salt and pepper

Preparation

1 Saute onion in a bit of olive oil for 5 minutes 2 Add the mushrooms, salt and pepper and saute 5 minutes more 3 Set aside to cool just a bit 4 Beat together egg and cream cheese 5 Add the quinoa, bread crumbs, cheese, mushrooms and sage; mix well 6 Mix together panko and parmiggiano 7 Form into bite size balls and roll in panko and parmiggiano mixture 8 Saute in olive oil over medium heat until golden brown on both sides. 9 Drain and sprinkle with cheese and sage leaves; serve.

About


Quinoa Portabello Cakes came out of making Quinoa and having a lot leftover; I did not realize just how big it gets when cooked!  The quinoa had been cooked with just a bit of salt and pepper and one bay leaf so it seemed a perfect base for something like a crab cake.  Alas, having no fresh crab in the house, I decided to to try using a couple of portabella mushrooms that I had bought this morning.  The nutty flavor of the quinoa and the gently mustiness of the sauteed mushrooms work beautifully together!  Filippo was not hungry but acquiesced to try one; well he quickly grabbed four more!  So I guess it's safe to say he liked them and so did I.