Cracked Quinoa Cakes with Tamari Mushrooms

Cracked Quinoa Cakes with Tamari Mushrooms

Bursting with the flavors of shallot, garlic, onion, and mustard, Chef Ryan’s Cracked Quinoa Cakes wrap their classically fluffy quinoa interior in a crunchy, crispy exterior. 

The cakes rest on a bed of tangy arugula, sweet apple slices, and mellow, tamari-roasted mushrooms. A drizzle of Chef Ryan’s lemony cashew cream makes the perfect finishing touch.

 A single, three-cake serving provides 5 grams of fiber, 9 grams of protein, and only 230 gluten-, egg- and oil-free calories! 

Not only that, but Dr. Michael Greger gives quinoa high marks for its amounts of: 

• folate
• vitamin E
• magnesium
• iron

 and zinc. 

Cracked Quinoa Cakes and Heart Health

According to this randomized clinical trial from a research team at Melbourne’s La Trobe University School of Life Sciences, it’s also a superior cardiovascular protectant.

 The trial’s participants who ate 1 cup of cooked quinoa daily for 12 weeks experienced an average 36-percent drop in their triglyceride levels.

 In Dr. Greger’s words, “That’s comparable to what one gets with triglyceride-lowering drugs or high-dose fish oil supplements.”

 He also recommends cooking with red or black quinoa instead of white because they’re both much higher in antioxidants.  But one thing is certain: Chef Ryan’s Cracked Quinoa Cakes are always too good to miss, no matter what color they are!

Cracked Quinoa Cakes with Tamari Mushrooms

• Author: Gregg Rozeboom
• Yield: 2 servings 1x
• Diet: Vegan

Scale 1x2x3x

Ingredients

1/2 cup quinoa

1 T ground flaxseed

1 shallot

4 garlic cloves

8 oz. mushrooms

1/4 cup tamari

1 lemon

1/3 cup cashews

1 T nutritional yeast

1 tsp salt

pinch of black pepper

1 tsp mustard powder

1 tsp dried parsley

½ tsp onion powder

1/2 cup gluten-free bread crumbs

1 apple

Handful of arugula

Instructions

1. If you don’t have a high speed blender (Vitamix) make sure you soak the cashews in water prior to making this recipe for at least 4 hours.
2. Heat oven to 400 degrees.
3. Thinly slice the mushrooms and marinate with tamari.
4. Spread mushrooms on a baking sheet.  Place in oven to roast for 25 min.
5. Cook quinoa according to package instructions with a pinch of salt and water.
6. Add ground flaxseeds and 2 T warm water to a small bowl and whisk.  Roughly chop shallot and just 2 of the garlic cloves.
7. Zest and juice the lemon.
8. Drain cashews, add to blender with 2 more garlic cloves, lemon juice and zest, nutritional yeast, and salt. Blend on high speed until completely smooth. Add small amounts of water as needed if it is too thick.
9. Add quinoa, flaxseed mixture, shallot, garlic, mustard powder, parsley, onion powder, and bread crumbs with pinch of salt and pepper to a food processor.  Pulse until everything is combined.
10. Wet hands and form mixture into 6, round cakes about a 1/2 in. thick.
11. Heat large nonstick skillet over medium high heat.  Add cakes to skillet and cook for 5 minutes per side.
12. Thinly slice apple, lay arugula on serving plate.  Place, apples, mushrooms, and quinoa cakes over arugula and drizzle with lemony cashew cream.

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1
• Calories: 460
• Sugar: 18 g
• Sodium: 1010 mg
• Fat: 17 g
• Saturated Fat: 3 g
• Trans Fat: 0 g
• Carbohydrates: 64 g
• Fiber: 10 g
• Protein: 18 g
• Cholesterol: 0 mg