Red Quinoa and Sweet Potato Patties

You might remember seeing this recipe I shared on Facebook from onegreenplanet.org. They looked really good. Well I tried it, and it is good. And while it’s not the simplest to make, it’s worth the effort. It also happens to be vegan!

If you have trouble finding Red quinoa at your usual grocery store, Bulk Barn usually stocks it. I highly recommend using red quinoa for this recipe and no other. 

Ingredients

1/2 cup red quinoa, soaked in 2 cups of water for 6 hours/overnight

1 medium sweet potato

1/2 onion, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, grated

1/2 cup walnuts

2 handfuls of spinach

1/4-1/2 cup brown rice flour

Ground chili/chili flakes, to taste

Salt, to taste

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 teaspoon coconut oil

Preparation 

1. Bring 2 cups water to boil, add some salt(around 1 tsp), add soaked red quinoa and let it cook for 10 minutes. Cover and let it stand for another 5 mins, fluff with fork. It has to be mushy. If it is cooked and not mushy, this fritter will not taste good. The mushier and over done it is, better it is.
2. Bring 2 cups water to boil, cube sweet potatoes, add it to boiling water until well done. Strain water, pat them dry, and mash with potato masher and add to quinoa.
3. In a pan, add quinoa and sweet potatoes and keep stirring, to remove any water if any. Add spinach and mix until it wilts. Transfer to a container.
4. In the same pan, add a teaspoon of coconut oil, add walnuts. Roast walnuts until crisp and chop them coarsely. Add to quinoa mixture.
5. Fold in chili powder, lemon juice, and salt as needed. If this is of a dough consistency, you probably need 1/4 cup of rice flour. I used a small amount of coconut flour (about 2 tablespoons), which was all I had left, instead of rice flour, and it worked well. I could have used a bit more as the patties fell apart a bit too easily. Use your judgement and if you think it is watery for a fritter, add more. Desired consistency is almost like pizza dough. Soft, but firm and not runny at all.
6. Shape them and pan-fry in coconut oil.

Try them with some Southwest Ranch sauce on top for an added spicy kick!