Thursday, February 12, 2009

Quinoa Fritters

Inspiration:
Food & Wine


Ingredients:
  • 2/3 cup quinoa
  • 1 1/3 cups water
  • 1/4 cup all purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup grated Cotija cheese
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • Pinch of freshly ground black pepper
  • 4 scallions, white and light green parts, finely chopped
  • 1/2 bunch Italian parsley leaves, chopped
  • 1 egg
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 3/4 cup vegetable oil
  • lemon wedges for garnish
  • Red Salsa for serving

Instructions:
  1. Wash the quinoa and drain well. Place a small dry saucepan over high heat. Add the quinoa and toast, shaking and stirring constantly with a wooden spoon to prevent scorching, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a large saucepan and add the water. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook, covered, until the water is absorbed, about 10 minutes. Set aside to cool.
  2. In a large bowl, combine the quinoa, flour, cheese, salt and pepper. Add the scallions, parsley, egg and egg yolk. Blend thoroughly with a mixing spoon until the mixture has the consistency of a soft dough.
  3. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Using two soup spoons, press the batter into egg-shaped ovals and gently slide into the hot oil. Fry until the bottoms are golden and brown, less than a minute. Turn and fry the second side until golden, less than 1 minute. Drain on paper towels and serve warm with lemon wedges and red salsa.
Notes:
I didn't have red salsa on hand so I used a spicy taco sauce instead. It looks like ketchup in the photo, but it isn't!
I didn't think that the cheese flavor was evident. You could easily omit it if you can't find Cotija.
While I prefer Quinoa with Black Beans and Cilantro, this was good as well. You could serve this as a first course (serves 6) or a main (serves 2-3).


Tim's Rating: 9/10
Liz's Rating: 8.5/10

7 comments:

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

LOOOOVE quinoa!!

Anonymous said...

OH YUM! What a fabulous idea and beautifully colorful!

What's Cookin Chicago said...

I usually prepare quinoa as I would rice or for a salad... but this is definitely a more creative way to go! looks delicious!

Lindsay said...

I will definitely make these.

Maria said...

Great use of quinoa here!

Anonymous said...

love these! thanks for the inspiration.

weezermonkey said...

These look amaaazing!