Quinoa cakes with eggplant and tomato topping plus smoked mozzarella
I’d like to present another proposition for a weekend breakfast, or maybe not necessarily. You can always prepare quinoa cakes and an eggplant mix the night before and just heat it in the morning. I had mine yesterday and again today and it was still delicious.
From an everyday matters - I’m trying to furnish my new apartment, so if there’s someone who knows some nice second hand stores with amazing furnitures in Berlin, please let me know :)
Meantime I so many things on “to do” list, that I had to relax a bit and stop thinking about apartments and moving. I’ve visited Helmut Newton Foundation in Berlin, located in the Museum of Photography. Whenever you’re in Berlin, go there! Till 18th of November you can see a white women / sleepless nights / big nudes exhibition and it’s simply amazing.
Also since I’m living in Berlin I have this huge dilemma, if I should cook more ar visit a numerous cafes, where I can have something delicious for a fair price. I love to cook, but being served is so tempting, hahaha.
You will need:
For quinoa cakes:
- 1 1/2 cups water
- 1 cup quinoa
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
- 4-5 tbsp olive oil
For topping:
- 1 eggplant, cut into small cubes
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 2 finely chopped garlics
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1/2 cup drained bottled roasted red peppers, rinsed and chopped
- 3/4 cup water
- 1 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley
- 1 cup smoked mozzarella, diced
Let’s start with quinoa cakes. In a small pot boil water with 1/2 teaspoon salt. Meanwhile, wash quinoa in 3 changes of water in a bowl, then drain well. Add quinoa to the boiling water and return to a boil, cover the pot and simmer for about 20-30 minutes, until the water absorbs. Put it on a side, covered, for about 5 minutes, the transfer to a bowl to cool down for 10 minutes (uncovered), stir occasionally and add egg.
Now we have to form the cakes. Put a plastic wrap on a table and brush it with oil. Lightly oil a small cup, pack 1/2 of it with quinoa, reload onto baking sheet and gently form a round, flat shapes out of it. You will make about 4 cakes. Remember to oil the cup each time. Chill cakes for 15 minutes.
Meantime start to prepare the topping. Place cut eggplant in a colander and toss it with 1 teaspoon salt. Squeeze handfuls of eggplant to extract liquid, then pat dry. In a pot put oil and cook eggplant, onion, garlic, oregano with a pinch of salt and pepper. Cover it and stir occasionally, it will take about 5 minutes for eggplant to get soft. Stir in tomatoes, roasted peppers and water and simmer under a cover. Stir it occasionally, until eggplant is very tender and mixture is thick (around 10 minutes).
Fry your quinoa cakes on 2 tablespoons oil, until golden. Be careful while turning it.
Before serving return the eggplant mix to a pot and stir in parsley and half of mozzarella, after about 30 seconds the cheese will start to soften. Spoon it over quinoa cakes, then sprinkle with remaining mozzarella.
Enjoy, Marta
Source: Gourmet
