I’m always a little in awe of the versatility of cauliflower. I call it the kitchen chameleon because it can take make shapes and forms in cooking. You can rice, mash or roast it; make it into a pizza; or eat it raw. But my favorite and sneakiest way to make use of it is in my Cauliflower Quinoa Patties. When I’m sifting around the web for new cool recipes, many times I end up on Pinch of Yum. Their Vegetarian Meatballs were such a hit with my family, I thought I’m create a variation on their recipe. So thank you once again to them for the inspiration for my patties.
Besides having a taste I’ve learned to grow to love (I didn’t always find it palatable as a youngster), cauliflower has some knock your socks off nutritional benefits that’ll make you wonder why you’re not chomping on this stuff all day. First off it’s a member of the highly esteemed cruciferous family along with Brussels sprouts, cabbage, broccoli and bok choy etc. Cruciferous veggies contain Glucosinolates which are pretty much amazing for every body system, especially the cardiovascular, digestive, and detoxification systems. But what I’m always blown away by are the studies that link eating cruciferous vegetables, which contain these special molecules, Glucosinates, with a lowered risk for cancer.1 Yippee! I think we can all agree that’s a good thing. The World’s Healthiest Food website mentions that we’re quickly approaching 600 studies attesting to their impact on cancer.
Let’s not stop there! There’s another healthy addition to this recipe that Vegans especially will appreciate. Nutritional yeast. Why is this important for vegans? Nutritional yeast gives an extra boost of protein and adds a whole bunch of B vitamins that Vegans will tell you is one of their main concerns when following Veganism. Nutritional yeast has 9 grams of protein per 2 Tablespoon serving. Vitamin Bs (all of them) are just amazing for the nervous system which is so very important when you’re dealing with stress (and I can’t name one person off the top of my head that’s got that issue covered adequately). So let’s just agree that the Bs are pretty essential and including them in a nice bio-available form in our food like I’ve done in this recipe is pure awesomeness.
These patties take on a bit of southwestern flair when you add guacamole and salsa but feel free to let your imagination run wild on toppings.
Cauliflower Quinoa Patties
These little vegetarian wonders make dinners a snap. You know your little ones are getting top notch nutrition and they're really tasty too especially with salsa and guacamole.
Ingredients
- 1 cup cooked quinoa
- 1/2 head of cauliflower (about 250g), broken into florets
- 1 T coconut oil, divided
- 1/2 medium onion, finely chopped (about 80g)
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1/2 tsp each of cumin, turmeric and coriander
- 1/2 cup nutritional yeast
- 1/4 cup coconut flour
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- Guacamole
- Salsa
- Cilantro, to garnish
Directions
- Step 1 Cook quinoa according to package and set aside 1 cup
- Step 2 While quinoa is cooking, boil cauliflower florets 5 minutes and drain
- Step 3 While quinoa is cooking, saute onions in 1/2 T coconut oil on medium for 5 minutes then add garlic and spices and saute 2 minutes more
- Step 4 Set saute aside in a medium bowl
- Step 5 Process cauliflower and quinoa in a processor until just blended (not too fine)
- Step 6 Add mix to saute bowl
- Step 7 Add the rest of ingredients and blend well
- Step 8 Heat saute pan to medium and then add 1/2 T coconut oil
- Step 9 Plop 1 heaping Tbsp of mixture to pan, flatten slightly and cook 6 minutes per side
- Step 10 To fancy the patties up, add guacamole, salsa and cilantro on top.
- Thomson, Cynthia A., and Tina L. Green. “Cruciferous Vegetables and Cancer Prevention.” Functional Foods & Nutraceuticals in Cancer Prevention: 263-88. doi:10.1002/9780470290194.ch15.