quinoa fritters

these are amazing. so amazing that i want to eat them every day. and easy enough that i probably could. if you watch top chef masters you might recognize these as half of mary sue's winning dish from the fast food challenge a couple of weeks ago. after watching eight? ten? seasons of top chef this is the first time i've ever made one of the recipes. sure, i've seen things on the show that i've thought about making before but then i go look at the recipe and it's too many steps/too many funky ingredients/too not do at home-y (i'm looking at you hector's tofu ceviche). but this was different! so simple there was no excuse not to make them.

i changed the recipe a bit to make it vegan and they turned out so well i have a hard time believing that the original version is any better. seriously. the first thing that makes these awesome is a little step that i alway mean to do when making quinoa but always forget...toasting it! yep, toss the quinoa around in a dry pan over high heat for a few minutes until it smells toasty and then cook as usual, it brings out a fantastic nuttiness in the quinoa that you don't want to miss out on.

the second thing that makes these awesome is that, despite being fried they are not greasy at all. we all know about quinoa's super health properties but i'm wondering if it also has an oil repelling quality because seriously, it's like they soaked up none of the cooking oil.

and the third thing that makes these awesome is crunchy on the outside soft and moist on the inside. perfection.

mary sue served hers with some kind of mayo something or other, i made a batch of aleppo aioli to accompany mine. mary sue served these as a side with quesadilla's, i went with the yuca tortillas from veganomicon. i did not want this dinner to end.

quinoa fritters
ingredients:
2/3 cup quinoa
1 1/3 cups water
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
3/4 teaspoon salt
black pepper, to taste
4 green onions, finely chopped
1/2 bunch italian parsley, chopped
1 tablespoon cornstarch mixed with 3 tablespoons water
spoonful of tahini
oil for frying

place a dry pan over high heat. add quinoa and toast for about 5 minutes, shaking and stirring constantly to prevent scorching. transfer to a pot and add water. bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook, covered, until water is absorbed, about 10 minutes. set aside to cool.in a large bowl, combine cooked quinoa, flour, nutritional yeast, and salt. add onions, parsley, tahini and cornstarch mixture. stir thoroughly with a spoon until the mixture holds together.

heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. form the quinoa mixture into fritters and add to the oil. fry until the bottoms are golden and brown. turn and fry the second side until golden. drain on paper towels and serve warm.

-d

black eyed pea fritters with spicy dipping sauce

black eyed peas are a food that i love but never seem to incorporate into my dishes. i think it was a sign when i stumbled across two recipes for black eyed pea fritters, one in vegan soul kitchen and one in vegnews magazine, that it was time to stop ignoring these delightful little peas. both recipes sounded equally tasty but i opted for the one in vegnews due to the shorter chilling time. like my first stab at empanadas i feel that choosing a recipe out of laziness or impatience backfired. though the called for chilling time was only 20 minutes they were not nearly firm enough at that point. i think they could use a full hour (as the other recipe suggested). anyway, i believe these are west african in origin and they pack a lot of flavor and some heat into each little fritter thanks to the abundance of spices. once i figured out how to work around their non-firmness* they fried up into perfect little fritters. while i played it safe and stuck with my fork, kris was brave enough to pick one up and dip and eat it....and it didn't fall apart! if that's not a successful fritter i don't know what is. and as a compromise, i paired them with the suggested spicy dipping sauce for the vegan soul kitchen fritters.

black eyed pea fritters
(from vegnews)
ingredients:
15 ounce can black eyed peas, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup onion, minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 hot chili seeded and minced
1/4 cup red bell pepper, minced
1/2 teaspoon fresh ginger, minced or grated
1 1/2 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon coriander
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 cup coarse cornmeal (or whatever cornmeal you have)
canola oil for frying (about 2 cups)

in a food processor, process black eyed peas. add onion, garlic, chili, bell pepper and spices and process until smooth. shape into 1 1/2 inch fritters and refrigerate, about one hour.

place cornmeal in a shallow bowl and dredge fritters on both sides. heat oil over medium heat and fry fritter until golden on both sides. move to a plate lined with paper towels to drain before servings.

earlier in the day we stopped in our favorite plant store plant it earth. while paying for our purchase i noticed a little bowl of orange peppers and a sign saying "take one!" the woman who rang us up kept warning me that they are SUPER hot little habanero chilis and to be careful. well wouldn't ya know that the spicy dipping sauce called for a habanero. it was meant to be. i know all the pictures aren't really necessary but it was so cute i had to do a whole photoshoot.....and i just can't keep it to myself. seriously, is this not the cutest pepper you have ever seen!?


hot pepper sauce
(from vegan soul kitchen)
ingredients:
1/4 cup olive oil
1 small red onion, diced
1/2 tsp cumin
1/8 tsp cayenne
coarse sea salt
1 large clove garlic, minced
1 habanero chili, minced
1/4 c tomato paste
1/4 c tomato sauce
2 tsp apple cider vinegar
1/4 c water
1/4 tsp white pepper

in a saucepan over low heat, warm the oil. add the onion, cumin, cayenne and 1/2 tsp salt and saute until the onions start to caramelize, about 8 minutes.

stir in the garlic and chili and saute for 2 minutes more. add the tomato paste, tomato sauce, vinegar, and water. mix well and simmer until it starts to thicken, about 5-7 minutes.

transfer all ingredients to a blender, add the pepper and puree until smooth. season with additional salt to taste.

*if your fritters aren't firm after awhile in the fridge and you don't feel like waiting any longer just roll the blob around in the cornmeal then form it into a ball incorporating the cornmeal. flatten the ball a bit and toss some more cornmeal on the outside and you should be good to go and fry away. just be gentle when flipping.

-d