Quinoa Yam Fritters With Creamy Avocado Dip

Recipe and image from Healthy Holistic Living
I have never been so torn about a recipe.


I loved the look of these cute little patties made from a recipe I found on a site called Healthy Holistic Living.  And the dip looked tasty.  But when I tried making it, I couldn't get the quinoa sticky enough for it to make a small patty shape. I tried adding an egg, and it held together enough to make the patties, but when I tried to gently turn them over while browning they fell apart.

So why share? Because when eating the crumbly hash that resulted with the creamy avocado dip, I really, really liked the flavour.  And the browned quinoa added a nice crunchy texture.  Again - never been so torn.  Flavour ten - presentation two.

I decided to post and ask people their opinions on how to make these come out like intended. Each response will be added to this post as I receive it.  I've already had a few response that look promising. Let's keep them coming.  -
  1. I think you let all the water evaporate when cooking the quinoa... leave some in so it’s mushy. - Justyna Przybylowska
  2. I make a quinoa patty as well and found the trick is to mix all the ingredients while the quinoa is still warm (and moist as mentioned above). When I have made them when the quinoa is cold they don't stick together as well. - Ronda Fransoo
  3. I used to make quinoa patties. Looking for the recipe, however, I think it was pretty much like most patties, egg, some sort of binder, I use Oat Bran, maybe a bit of mayo, and cooked quinoa along with any other goodies like diced peppers, etc. Will see if I can find it. Never had a problem with them falling apart as this was hand food we made for sailing. - Marine Giokas
  4. Cheese. - Carlie Wong
  5. Flax seeds soaked in water, then added to the mixture? Oats? - Deborah Connors
  6. Cook the yams and mash them. - Pam Jackson
  7. Make sure the quinoa has little to no liquid.. Add the beaten egg mixture with a bit of bread crumbs to bind the batter. - Nahla Hopfe
Hoping by the end of this, I will be able to try recipe successfully in terms of how it looks.  They just need to stay into patties long enough to serve. After that if they crumble while you eat them I'm good with it.

Can't wait to hear from you!

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Quinoa Yam Fritters With Creamy Avocado Dip
Note - original recipe used Sweet Potatoes, but I prefer dark orange yams!

Ingredients -

1/2 C                Uncooked organic sprouted quinoa, rinsed1                       Dark orange yam, cubed
4                       Green onions sliced
1                       Handful of baby spinach, kale, bok choy or swiss chard finely chopped
1/4 C                Chopped oregano
1/4 C                Chopped basil
2 pinches of red pepper flakes
Coconut Oil 1 tsp (optional)
black pepper
salt

Avocado Dip -

1                      Avocado, mashed
1/4 C               Coconut milk (I used my fav coconut almond milk blend)
1 T                  Chopped oregano
1/4 tsp             Onion powder
1/4 tsp             Red pepper flakes
Salt to taste

Instructions -

In a small bowl, prepare avocado dip combining all ingredients. Set aside.

Add your quinoa to a saucepan. Cover with 1 cup of water, bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer on low covered. As soon as the water is absorbed, turn off the heat, leave the lid off this will keep more moisture in the quinoa making it a bit sticky. You do not want your quinoa to be soft and fluffy you want it to be sticky that way the balls stay together.

At the same time steam one whole, peeled and cubed sweet potato. Don’t overcook or it will turn to mush in the recipe. Let cool. (NOTE - I peeled and diced my yam, tossed it with a little oil and roasted in the oven at 350 degrees until just barely tender. Worked perfectly)

Add the sweet potatoes to the quinoa along with the spinach, green onion, oregano, basil, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. Using a wooden spoon thoroughly combine ingredients. If you find that it is not binding well add 1 tsp of coconut oil.

Roll into equal size balls. If you make them too large they will fall apart during the cooking process.
Put coconut oil in a deep frying pan and heat up on medium heat. Once it’s good and hot place quinoa balls in pan. Let them get golden brown before flipping. If you try and flip early they could fall apart.

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