Parmesan Quinoa Cakes with Eggplant and Sausage Ragout

This was only my second time making quinoa, and let me tell you, it was so much better than my first time!  The first time I ever made it was when I was in training in Chicago for my last job with IRI.  My roommate and a few of the other girls in the group were health nuts and the bunch of us went to Whole Foods and came back to the hotel with all sorts of stuff I'd never eaten before.  I had bought a cup of quinoa because I'd heard it was a supergrain, and since I was in good company, I figured that was the time to try it.  Hrmm, maybe not.  They'd bought already-cooked quinoa before, but they'd never cooked it from scratch so couldn't give me any tips.  I didn't thoroughly wash it so it was bitter and gritty.  I also didn't add enough water so it was very grainy.  Not a good experience.  So it's taken me a good 7 years to try it again.

This time, I figured I'd try the quinoa cake-style with added egg and parmesan to ease myself back.  Anything is good with egg and parmesan, right?  The original recipe calls for it to be pan fried, but I baked mine to make it a little healthier.  It turned out pretty darned good.

Just make sure you wash the quinoa very well before you cook it.  I rinsed it through 3 or 4 changes of water to get as much of the grittiness out as possible.  It was perfect.

I sprinkled the mozzarella on top of the ragout, but I think next time it would be better to mix it into the ragout right at the end so it can melt slightly and get all ooey and gooey.  I reflected that in the directions below.

Parmesan Quinoa Cakes with Eggplant and Sausage Ragout
Adapted from this recipe.

Ingredients:

• For the Parmesan Quinoa Cakes
• 1 cup quinoa
• 1 1/2 cups water
• pinch of salt
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 3/4 cup grated parmesan
• couple pinches of thyme
• PAM

• For the Eggplant and Sausage Ragout
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 package sliced button mushrooms
• 1 large purple eggplant, diced, salted and drained
•  Tastefully Simple Seasoned Salt
• Tastefully Simple Garlic Garlic
• Tastefully Simple Onion Onion
• a few dashes of dried thyme and dried basil
• water
• 1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
• 4 links pre-cooked chicken or turkey sausage, cut into small slices
• 4 oz fresh mozzarella, diced

Directions:

• For the Parmesan Quinoa Cakes
• Thoroughly wash quinoa and let sit in a fine mesh sieve to drain.
• Bring water and pinch of salt to a boil.  Add the washed and drained quinoa.  Bring back to a boil, then cover and simmer 20-30 minutes until quinoa has absorbed all the water.  Remove from heat and let sit, covered, for 5 minutes for any excess water to absorb into the quinoa.
• Transfer quinoa to a bowl and let cool 10-15 minutes.  Stir in eggs, parmesan and thyme.  (Make sure the quinoa is sufficiently cooled, otherwise the egg may begin to scramble when you add them.)
• Divide quinoa into 4 equal parts, and using your hands, form each part into individual tightly-packed patties.  Place patties onto a baking sheet sprayed with PAM.
• Chill patties for 15-30 minutes.  (This is important to let the egg set, otherwise the patty may fall apart on you.)
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
• Spray the tops of patties with PAM and bake for 20 minutes, flipping them halfway through.
• Turn on the broiler and broil for the last minute or two to get a nice brown crust on top.
• Serve immediately.

• For the Eggplant and Sausage Ragout
• Sauté the mushrooms in olive oil for a few minutes until slightly browned.
• Add in the eggplant, seasonings, thyme and a few tablespoons of water.  Sauté until everything begins to soften.  Add a little bit of water as needed to prevent the mixture from drying out.
• Add the tomatoes and sausage and continue to cook until the ragout is nice and soft.
• Sprinkle with mozzarella and toss immediately before serving.

As with most (or all?) of my recipes, this one is very flexible, and you can add anything you'd like.  The original recipe calls for roasted peppers, which I didn't add because I didn't have any on hand.  But I added the mushrooms and the sausage.  And it would be yummy with artichoke hearts as well, I think.