Weekend Cooking: Southwest Quinoa Cakes

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Last weekend when I was looking around for some new ideas for easy, healthful, and tasty weekday dinners, I ran across the latest edition of Eating Well. If you are unfamiliar with this magazine, it has a nice blend of appealing recipes, health information, and interesting extras. The current issue, for example, has articles about grass-fed beef and heirloom seeds.

This recipe for Southwest Quinoa Cakes caught my eye. The muffins were so easy to make and really delicious, both fresh for dinner and reheated for lunch. These would also be great served at room temperature on a buffet or for a potluck. My only suggestion is to cut up two avocados instead of one.

copyright: Eating Well magazine

Southwest Quinoa Cakes
Makes 12; 6 servings

• 2 cups water
• 1 cup quinoa (Eating Well prefers red)
• 4 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 cup canned black beans, rinsed
• ¾ cup reduced-fat cottage cheese (I used regular)
• ¼ cup sliced scallions
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
•  ¼ teaspoon salt, plus a pinch, divided
• 1 cup shredded pepper Jack cheese
• 1 (1-ounce) can fire-roasted diced tomatoes
• 1 garlic clove
• 1 small chipotle pepper in adobo sauce
• ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 avocado, chopped (or two!)

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Coat a 12-cup nonstick muffin tin with cooking spray

2. Bring water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Stir in quinoa. Reduce to a simmer, cover and cook until the grains are tender and reveal their spiraled germ, about 15 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl and let cool for about 10 minutes.

3. Add eggs, beans, cottage cheese, scallions, flour, baking powder, and ¼ teaspoon salt to the quinoa and stir until well combined. Divide the mixture among the muffin cups (about ¼ cup each). Top each quinoa cake with about 1 tablespoon cheese.

4. Bake the cakes until puffed and a little brown on top, about 20 minutes. Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Gently loosen and remove with a paring knife.

5. Meanwhile, place tomatoes, garlic, chipotle, and a pinch of salt in a blender and puree until smooth. Transfer to a small bowl and stir in the cilantro.

6. Serve cakes with the salsa and avocado.