Upcycle InStyle

I made some quinoa for dinner and ended up with some leftovers. Inspired by the quinoa cakes that my friend Frances made at brunch from this Food and Wine recipe, I decided to make a version of these cakes with some Farina I happen to have on hand instead of the semolina that recipe called for. And also I wanted to shorten the time it took to make them to a fraction of the time. They turned out sooo good!

Recipe 

• 1 cup of brown rice farina
• 1/2 cup quinoa
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons grape seed oil (can use any oil of your liking, I prefer high heat tolerant oils)
• 1 tablespoon minced shallot
• 10 ounces baby spinach
• Salt
• Freshly ground pepper
• 1 cup of flaxseed milk (can use any milk)
• 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 1 1/2 cups panko (Japanese bread crumbs)
• 3 large egg whites

1. I used left over quinoa but if you are making it fresh, do this: In a small saucepan, combine the quinoa with 1 cup of water and bring to a boil. Cover and cook over low heat until the water has been absorbed, about 15 minutes. Lightly fluff the quinoa with a fork and cover it again.
2. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of the grape seed oil. Add the shallot and cook over moderate heat, stirring, until softened, about 1 minute. Add the spinach and cook until most of the liquid has evaporated, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer the spinach to a strainer and let cool slightly; press out any remaining liquid and finely chop the spinach.
3. In a large saucepan, combine the milk, 1 1/2 cups of water, 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and 2 teaspoons of salt and bring to a boil. Remove the pan from the heat and gradually whisk in the farina. Cook until it looks like the texture of thick porridge.
4. Stir the cooked farina, the beaten whole egg, Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese and spinach into the quinoa mixture. Set aside to cool to room temperature.
5. Meanwhile, put the panko in a shallow dish and season with 1 teaspoon of salt. In another shallow dish, whisk the egg whites with 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1 tablespoon of water.
6. Use a spoon or your hands to  scoop the farina and quinoa mixture and shape into the size of a golf ball. Dip the cakes into the whites and turn to coat, letting the excess drip off. Coat the cakes in the panko and shake off excess crumbs.
7. In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of the grape seed oil. Add the cakes and cook over moderately high heat, press down on them with a spatula to shape the golf balls into cake shapes shown in the picture here.
8. Cook until golden on both sides and on the edges, about 6 minutes; adjust the heat as necessary to prevent the cakes from burning. Drain the cakes on a paper towel–lined plate, then transfer to a baking sheet and keep warm in the oven. Wipe out the skillet and cook the remaining cakes in the remaining 2 tablespoons of grape seed oil.
9. Repeat  step 8 until all the cakes are cooked. Serve hot.