Quinoa Cakes/Latkes with Mango, Carrot, & Lime Vinaigrette Salad

I have been obsessed about quinoa recently. I ruled it this week kosher for Passover although as it turns out higher powers deemed it so already! :) I wanted to change it around a bit to keep it interesting so I decided on making quinoa cakes/latkes instead of a straight forward salad. I also wanted to keep it gluten free so I used a potato for binding in addition to an egg, instead of flour.
You might remember when I featured the Champagne mangoes in a recent post and informative readers' comments here. While often you will find green tart mangoes featured in salsas, salads and chutneys, I purposely used ripe sweet champagne. I didn't have to balance the acidity with sugar and added lime and salt to fully enhance the flavors. The crunchy carrot with creamy mango paired beautifully together. I added only a touch of the beets so that the color and texture enhance this salad and paint it slightly with red but won't overpower with a bold stroke. The cooked beet has a different texture from both mango and carrot to give this dish further depth.

Feel free to add ingredients of your choice to the quinoa cake/latke, grated zucchini for example, or a touch of grated cheese. You can serve this in so many different ways the salad on top or under quinoa cake/latke and make it all pretty. Garnish with cilantro leaves. Make sure to get a nice dose of the salad with the quinoa bite, it is sensational! Please read more about quinoa and a bonus quinoa salad in my previous post Quinoa - An Ancient Grain from the Andeans to the Mediterranean.

Quinoa Cakes/Latkes with Mango, Carrot, & Lime Vinaigrette Salad
about 16 cakes/latkes
Quinoa Cakes/Latkes Ingredients:
1 Cup red or regular quinoa
1 Medium/large onion, grated
1 Medium potato, grated
Handful chopped parsley
1 Small carrot, grated
1 Egg
Salt to taste
Freshly ground black pepper
1-2 Tablespoon canola oil

Directions:
1. Cook quinoa as directed on box with a tad of salt. Let cool.
2. Add to quinoa grated onion, potato, parsley, carrot, egg, salt and pepper and mix. Taste for salt and pepper and adjust.
3. Heat up an oven to 400F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and brush with oil.
4. Form quinoa cakes/latkes at the palm of your hand and lay on cookie sheet.
5. Bake for 20 minutes and flip over with a spatula and cook for additional 10-20 minutes. Do not over crisp the quinoa cake. Cooking time is shorter on flipped side.

Mango, Carrot, Beet & Lime Vinaigrette Salad Ingredients:
2 Champagne ripe mangoes, peeled and julienned
2 Raw small carrots, peeled and julienned
1/2 Medium beet, peeled, boiled till soft and julienned
Juice from 1/2 of medium/large lime
Cilantro leaves from few stalks
Touch of salt

Directions:
Mix all ingredients. Taste for salt and adjust.

34 comments:

  1. What a lovely combination Shulie. Must try this. Love quinoa and of course mango is in season here in Florida.

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  2. Are these beautiful or what? I must admit that I don't serve quinoa enough at home. It may be because I don't have enough recipes to rotate so I don't serve the same boring plate all the time. Thanks for a great idea serving them as cakes. I can imagine that baking also added a nice crunch to the outside while keeping the inside nice and soft. Lovely!

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  3. Wow, what a wonderful idea of making quinoa cakes and using potatoes for binding - you're so creative :-). And the salad sounds yummy and looks so festive and colorful!

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  4. I've been pretty quinoa obsessed myself lately, and these cakes look like a great new way to use quinoa.

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  5. I absolutely love how you made these into cakes. Awesome!

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  6. wow...
    looks healthy and delicious..
    nice clicks :)

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  7. This is very clever, Shulie. Like a modern, healthier latke almose. I'm inspired.

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  8. Thank you Eleanor!! It's a nice change and can be lunch or side dish.Thx Jean yes, It can have crunch if you keep it the full 40 minutes and depending on your oven, which I did with first batch. Jonathan didn't like the crunch so second batch I made them just so. Both ways are delicious in my opinion:). Thank you @CookingRookie it is pretty the salad and the julienned mango looked like pretty noodled at first. Thx Sylvie, it was a nice change of pace. I also like that you can freeze these. Thank you Maris and Aruna. Thanks Nisrine, absolutely! Healthier latkes:).

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  9. I'm so happy mangoes are in season during the springtime, because this vinaigrette is going into heavy rotation in our house starting tonight!

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  10. I've been doing a lot of quinoa lately, too. What a great way to prepare it, think I'm going to have to try this.

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  11. This is a great twist, Shulie! Loving the textures and flavors (tho not the beets, but that's okay.) Bookmarked and SU'd!

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  12. Gorgeous latkedoodles. Definitely a must try. I'm salivating over the vinaigrette.

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  13. Thank you Mollie. Yes, it is so simple and delicious!! If you wish you can look for some other mango chutneys, salsas and salads on my site. Thank you Deb. Let me know once you do how do you like it. Thanks Renee, for SU too. Ahahaha the beets, you can leave out, it's only half of it anyhow.:)

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  14. What a healthier (and lovelier) take on potato latkes! I'm obsessed with quinoa also lately so I'd have to try out this recipe. The mango-carrot-lime slaw is so vibrant!! Love it! Hope all is well with you, Shulie.

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  15. What a lovely idea! I so adore quinoa and it looks like these patties have so much flavor.

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  16. I'm a big quinoa fan myself but this is one way I've never thought to prepare them!

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  17. I am in love with these latkes. The mango-carrot salad sounds amazing too!

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  18. Shulie ~ these are BEAUTIFUL!!! I LOVE THEM!!! love that they're a cross between a 'cake' and a 'latke' - gorgeous color and i can imagine the flavor profile w/the mango and carrot. cannot wait to make these!

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  19. Shulie Shulie Shulie - this looks AMAZING! I must try it immediately! Wow. Thanks for sharing and beautiful pics!!

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  20. I have been on a quinoa kick lately, too:) It's nice to use it in more than salads or as a side. And I just happen to have two champaigne mangos in my fruit bowl, waiting to become friends with some carrots and beets.
    I knew it would be a success:) Great job!

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  21. I love the idea of making quinoa into cakes/latkes. I discovered quinoa lately when my daughter cooked some when she came home from school. She will be surprised to see these cakes when I make them when she comes back. Thanks SHulie!

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  22. These patties are superb idea.. i like the idea of adding egg and potatoes as binding. I may try something similar :)

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  23. I have to have to have to use quinoa when i make latkes next time. never could have thot about it. and I still haven't found red quinoa. gives it such a lovely color.

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  24. Thanks Jun. All is well at this end, haven't spoken to you in awhile..I will explore your site soon to see what have you been up to lately!Thanks Bri, love the word Patties too:) Kat, I just wanted to change things around and make it more appealing for my hubby, who doesn't hate quinoa but could care less. Now, 16 cakes between the two of us went that evening with nothing left. SUCCESS!! :) Thank you Yuri and Alison Deb. & Heather, Heather, Heather You guys shoud def, try it! Lana, Lol & quite a friendship will develop!! :) Thx for cracking me up! Ooh Malou so happy. Your daughter will be proud of you!! :) Thx Kankana, you basically can add anything, parsnips, zucchini, add different herbs. Play with it, Enjoy! Thx Soma, you can find it at Whole Foods. I like it for same exact reason the color over the regular.Lastly Ken ahahaha latkedoodles thanks for the laugh!

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  25. This looks just delicious and what a lovely twist on Quinoa! I love the mango touch here. Yum!

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  26. i absolutely love quinoa, so i wil give these a try, looks great! cheers from london

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  27. Hmmm - not only are these cakes easy on the eyes but the flavor combination here is outstanding!

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  28. What can I use instead of an egg for binding? I usually use half of a mashed banana for my baking to replace each egg but I'm not sure that would work here. Any ideas?
    April :)

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  29. Thank you Orly and Barbara, Pity hello there all the way here from the USA. I love you London and England in general.Thank you Eliana, it's time to make them again.:)April, I posted the Q on twitter and this is what I got:
    @IndianFoodRocks: Cornflour?
    @Soma_R: Chickpea Flour?
    @Soma_R: corn flour is better
    @IndianFoodRocks:chickpea flour imparts flavor. cornflour is flavorless but can give pasty taste. so need to add judiciously.
    @RJFlamingo: They might not need an egg. There's a lot of starch there - might work without.
    @Weelicious: You could try 1 tbsp flax seeds with 2-3 tbsp of water to soften and then mash into a paste.
    @IndianFoodRocks: you can do both potato and cornflour
    I hope this helps!! Shulie

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  30. @anonymous one more response from twitter:
    @chefpandita ground flaxseeds mixed with water
    @chefpandita when u ground and soak them they take a gel-like consistency :)

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  31. this looks delicious~~~ i wonder if i can use flaxseed instead of the egg here! (since i am vegan!)

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  32. Junia, Nice meeting you. Look at correspondence above comments about flax seed paste as a vegan option. So yes, definitely, according to the comments above but I haven't tried it, but I should!

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