First of all, excuse the terrible photo. I hadn’t intended to blog about these babies, so I didn’t take any photos of the process (I also made them on a Sunday afternoon I was also making a gazillion other things and it was a bit hectic in the kitchen) nor did I photo when they were finished. It wasn’t until days later when I actually TRIED them for the first time, that I realized how good they were and that a blog post was in order.
I found the recipe for Kale & Quinoa Cakes in a recent issue of the Wegmans Menu Magazine. I love kale and quinoa and they just looked so darn great in the picture. Mine, unfortunately, did not come out as pretty, but whatever. It’s one of those ‘I love to cook’ recipes, designated as such because it involved multiple steps. Before school, I didn’t bat an eye at page-long ingredient lists or elaborate recipes, but I tell you what–since I’ve been in school, any dish that takes more 30 minutes start to finish just makes me want to cry. I can’t wait to have my life back. Seriously. (Sixty-four days until graduation. But I’m not counting or anything.)
But, I liked these so much I decided to take time during one of my Sunday afternoon prep sessions to whip them up. The recipe isn’t complicated at all; it’s just one of those where you’re grabbing for bowls and spoons and the food processor and more bowls and once you’re finished you wonder, ‘Was that even worth it?’
I’ll be honest, I don’t know if it WAS worth it. Don’t get me wrong, the flavor was great. I’m thrilled that I have a whole bag of them in the freezer to have for months to come without any more work. However, I could easily serve kale and quinoa at dinner and accomplish the dish in a similar fashion. But, I’ll stop being a humbug and give some praise to the recipe. It had great flavor and texture and it really wasn’t that hard. I served the cakes with fish, but they would go equally well with salmon or pork or even eggs for breakfast. Definitely don’t ignore the tip to serve with Roasted Red Pepper sauce–so good!
Recipe below and linked above.
2 cups Wegmans Organic Vegetable Broth
1 cup (6.5 oz) Wegmans Organic White Quinoa (Bulk Foods)
1 bag (16 oz) Food You Feel Good About Cleaned & Cut Kale Greens
1 container (7 oz) Food You Feel Good About Diced Mirepoix
1 medium (about 9 oz) baking potato, peeled, chopped
6 Food You Feel Good About Large Eggs
2 Tbsp Wegmans Basting Oil
1/2 Tbsp Wegmans Sea Salt Fine Crystals
2 tsp Food You Feel Good About Tuscan Seasoning Shak’r
Wegmans Nonstick Cooking Spray
Directions:
- Bring vegetable broth and quinoa to boil in pan on MED; stir. Reduce heat to LOW; cover with lid. Simmer 15 min.
- Remove from heat; let stand, covered, 10 min to absorb liquid. Spread quinoa on large sheet pan to cool.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Blanch kale in large pot of boiling, salted water, 3-4 min. Transfer to bowl of ice water. Drain; squeeze dry.
- Pulse kale, mirepoix, and potato in batches in food processor until finely chopped. Whisk eggs, basting oil, salt, and seasoning together. Add kale-potato mixture and quinoa to eggs; mix until combined.
- Coat muffin pans with nonstick cooking spray. Place 1/2 cup mixture in each section of muffin pans. Bake 35-40 min, until egg sets and tops are lightly browned. Transfer pans to wire racks to cool 10 min before removing cakes.
Try these cakes paired with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce.
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