Quinoa Patties

Earlier in the week, I cooked a batch of quinoa to go with some chicken. While rice is my first love when it comes to grain side dishes, quinoa is rapidly becoming a close second. It has a nice nutty flavor, and it cooks faster than rice. And I like to see how the little curly strand comes out in the quinoa. (I know, I am easily amused).

Anyway, I had about two cups of leftover quinoa that I didn't know what to do with. After surfing the 'net for ideas, I was intrigued by the idea of making these quinoa patties. But I didn't have most of the ingredients, so used the recipe as a base and took some liberties with the spices. What I ended up with something of a cross between a biscuit and an Italian meatball with the basil, garlic, and parmesan cheese. It made for an unique snack when dipped with tomato-basil sauce. If I were to make these again, I would probably follow the recipe more closely and add feta cheese. What I am curious to see, though, is if theses patties would work as sort of vegetarian "meatballs" if tossed with pasta and tomato sauce.

Quinoa Patties
Loosely adapted from 101 Cookbooks

2 cups cooked quinoa
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, finely chopped
1/2 yellow onion, grated
3 garlic cloves, grated
3/4 cup seasoned breadcrumbs
5 eggs
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp kosher salt

Pre-heat oven at 400 degrees. Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl. Oil a baking sheet (I used cooking spray). Form batter into roughly two-inch patties. Bake for 15-20 minutes, (until nicely golden brown on the bottom side). Flip and bake for another 5-7 minutes. Makes about a dozen patties. Best served dipped in tomato sauce.