I’m always looking for good meatless recipes, since we like to have one or two meatless nights a week around here. When I came across this recipe, I thought it looked fantastic. I love everything about crab cakes, and I thought a similar veggie version sounded great. But the result was a soggy mess.
The recipe for these cakes needed a little tweaking. The original was tasty, but just way too wet. I made a couple different changes to the original, and came up with this version. The salty feta gives it a nice bite, but I think I may experiment with other cheeses soon. And the great thing about these cakes is that the sauce possibilities are endless. And I love a good sauce.
Quinoa Cauliflower Cakes
1 cup quinoa
1.5 cups cauliflower florets
4 eggs
8 scallions, minced
1 cup oats
1 cup feta, crumbled and spread on paper towels for 15-30 minutes
zest of 2 lemons
3 tablespoons minced parsley
Cook the quinoa according to package instructions, making sure to season with salt while cooking. Spread out on a baking sheet to cool and dry a little, because you want to take out some of the extra liquid.
Pulse the cauliflower in a food processor until it starts to look like wet sand. Add the eggs, scallions, and oats, and process until combined but not so long that it becomes a paste. Remove to a large bowl and add the cooled quinoa. Add the feta, zest, and parsley. If your feta is not too salty, you may want to add some salt along with pepper to season. Stir everything together. Refrigerate for at least an hour, until it starts to thicken and solidify a bit.
Form into patties about 3 inches wide. Saute in some olive oil until each side browns nicely. Be careful flipping, because they are very delicate. Don’t move them around too much in the pan.
Serve with some avocado pesto, kale and pepita pesto, traditional pesto, your favorite dressing, or relish of some sort. I liked them with some leftover cranberry sauce after Thanksgiving, too.