Crispy Baked Zucchini-Quinoa Cakes with Dill Yogurt Sauce
Servings: 4 servings
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup uncooked quinoa
- 2 medium zucchini
- ½ cup canned chickpeas drained, rinsed and mashed (OR 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour)
- 1/3 cup finely minced yellow onion
- 3 cloves garlic finely minced
- 2 scallions white and light green parts only, finely chopped
- Zest of 1 small lemon
- 2/3 cup crumbled feta or goat cheese Feel free to use a full cup if you're into cheese.
- 1 large egg
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon coarse black pepper
For the Yogurt Sauce:
- ¾ cup non-fat Greek yogurt
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill
- ½ teaspoon fresh lemon juice
- 1 clove garlic grated or very finely minced
- Kosher salt
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment and set aside.
- Start by cooking your quinoa. Place 1/3 cup quinoa in a small saucepan with 1/3 cup plus 3 tablespoons water. Bring to a boil, lower to a simmer, cover and cook for 15 minutes until all the water has been absorbed. Let the quinoa rest for 5-10 minutes covered, then fluff with a fork and let it cool to room temperature.
- Moving on to the zucchini! Using the large holes of a box grater, grate the zucchini into a colander set over a large bowl or in the sink. Sprinkle it with a pinch of salt and let it sit for about 15 minutes. This will help the zucchini release some of its water.
- While your zucchini is draining, place the chickpeas between two paper towels and rub gently so they release their skins. Discard the skins, and place the chickpeas in a small bowl. Mash with a fork until they form a coarse paste.
- After 15 minutes, place the zucchini in a clean dishtowel (or cheese cloth), and squeeze well to remove as much water as humanly possible. You’re going to need to really squeeze, people. I can’t stress this enough! If you don’t give it your all, and the zucchini is watery, your cakes will fall apart. Sad, but true.
- Place the dried zucchini in a mixing bowl. Add the mashed chickpeas, minced onion, garlic, scallions, lemon zest, feta, egg, salt and fresh ground pepper. Mix until all the ingredients are very well incorporated.
- Form the mixture into patties ¼-inch patties about 2½-inches in diameter. You should have about 12-14 cakes.
- Bake your zucchini-quinoa cakes for 20 minutes, carefully flip the patties, and cook for another 10 minutes until they’re golden brown and crisped on the outside. If your patties are stuck when you try to flip them, just return them to the oven without flipping. They'll unstick once they finish cooking! Remove from the oven and let cool on the baking sheet for 3-5 minutes.
- While your cakes are in the oven, combine all the ingredients for the yogurt sauce in a small bowl. Season with salt to taste and refrigerate until ready to use.
- Serve cakes warm with plenty of yogurt sauce.
Notes
If you want to up the crispy factor, you can always give these bad boys a quick pan-fry in a couple tablespoons olive oil after you’ve baked them. (If you try to fry them without baking them first, they have a tendency to fall apart in the pan.)