quinoa risotto cakes

September 15, 2009 · Filed under Entree

Ingredients:
1 cup of quinoa  (640)
4 cups of low sodium chicken broth (40)
1 cup of white wine (110)
2 tbsp of olive oil (240)
4 cloves of garlic (20)
A few handfuls of spinach (20)
5 stalks of asparagus (15)
Half of a lemon (5)
One egg (70)
1/2 cup of reduced fat mozzarella cheese (160)
1/4 cup of parmesan cheese (110)
Salt and pepper to taste
Basil and paprika to taste
Optional: 1/2 cup of low-fat marinara sauce for serving (35)

1. Prep the veggies: wilt the spinach, and chop into small pieces.  Dice the asparagus, and quickly sautee with a chopped clove of garlic.  Set aside.
2. Prep the quinoa: rinse it really well (like how you rinse rice, but 3 times).  Strain with a fine mesh sieve.
3. Bring the chicken broth to a simmer.
4. In a separate pot, sautee the rest of the garlic in olive oil, then add the quinoa.  After a minute, add the white wine and stir until it is absorbed.  Optional, but recommended: pour yourself a glass!  It’ll make the rest of the process pass faster.
5. Add the chicken broth to the quinoa mixture, 1/2 cup at a time until it absorbs.
6. Combine the quinoa, spinach, asparagus, and mozzarella cheese.  Add salt, pepper, and lemon juice to taste.  Let the mixture cool.
7. Preheat the oven to 400, and spray a muffin pan with cooking spray.
8. Beat the egg, and mix it into the cooled quinoa risotto.
9. Distribute the mixture in the muffin pan.  Optional: fill up each portion half way, put a pinch of mozzarella, then fill up the rest.
10. Bake for 15-20 minutes.  Right before you take it out, sprinkle some parmesan over the top and let it bake for a few more minutes.
11. Take out the cakes, and let them rest and set  before serving.  Optional: serve with marinara sauce.

Total: 1430 calories (about 12 cakes, without the sauce)
Per serving: 357.5 calories (about 3 cakes)
To be honest: My goal was to make a risotto cake that held together after baking and stayed gooey in the center — success!  All risotto cakes I’ve had were deep-fried, and I wanted to make it healthy by using quinoa and just an oven.  The only hiccup is that I went overboard with the salt (because one of my last ventures came out really bland).  My seasoning skills are just not up to snuff quite yet.  Anyways, it takes a while to make this (about 2 hours for me), but it’s a really convenient snack for the following days. Tip: Heat one up for breakfast and eat with an egg over easy.

Inspiration(s): My love for risotto, Gochi’s deep-fried mushroom risotto balls, and Felicia’s adamant endorsement of quinoa.