Ancient Grains for Modern Meals - Maria Speck [83]
2 Meanwhile, prepare the mayonnaise. In a small bowl, combine the mayonnaise, lime juice and zest, and the serrano chile. Chill, covered, until ready to serve.
3 To make the cakes, add all the ingredients except the olive oil to the bowl with the quinoa. Using your hands, thoroughly combine, and squeeze the mixture to bring it together.
4 Level the mixture inside the bowl and divide into 8 equal portions using a butter knife (cut in half like a cake, and then each half into quarters). Moisten your hands with water and form cakes about 3 inches in diameter, pressing firmly to ensure they hold together. Place the cakes on a small baking sheet or large plate. If you have time, chill, covered with plastic wrap, for 30 minutes.
5 To finish, heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat until it shimmers. Cook 4 cakes at a time until golden brown, carefully turning once with a metal spatula, about 4 minutes on each side. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil and repeat with the second batch. Serve warm or at room temperature, together with the mayonnaise.
TO GET A HEAD START: Make the quinoa, as in step 1, ahead.
TO LIGHTEN IT UP: Use lowfat mayonnaise or lowfat Greek yogurt instead of regular mayonnaise to make the lime mayonnaise. Bake the burgers instead of pan-frying them.
Zucchini-Dill Bites with Pine Nuts
From my Greek mom I inherited a passion for dill, an herb I consider much underappreciated in the United States. This spidery kitchen green livens up many dishes—as in these small oven-baked zucchini cakes. I like serving them with smoked salmon and a lemony yogurt dip, or, for vegetarians, with cubed feta cheese and olives. MAKES 8 CAKES, TO SERVE 4
ZUCCHINI BITES
1 pound zucchini (3 small zucchini or 2 medium)
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
½ medium-size yellow onion, cut into chunks
¾ cup loosely packed fresh dill
¼ cup loosely packed fresh basil
¾ teaspoon dried thyme
¼ cup pine nuts
1 clove garlic, peeled
1 large egg, lightly beaten
½ cup plain dry whole wheat bread crumbs
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
LEMONY YOGURT DIP
1 cup plain whole-milk Greek yogurt
2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
Fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 to 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 To prepare the zucchini bites, shred the zucchini in a food processor using the shredding disk. You should have about 4 cups. Place the shredded zucchini in a sieve, toss with the salt, and set aside to drain for 20 to 30 minutes. Do not clean the processor bowl yet.
2 Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 425°F. Brush a large rimmed baking sheet with olive oil or coat with cooking spray.
3 Fit the food processor with the steel blade and add the onion, dill, basil, thyme, pine nuts, and garlic to the bowl of the processor. Process until finely chopped, about 8 seconds, scraping down the bowl once halfway through. Transfer the ingredients to a large bowl.
4 Wrap the zucchini in a clean dish towel and twist to wring out as much liquid as possible. You should have about 2 cups. Add the zucchini to the bowl as well. Stir in the egg, ¼ cup of the bread crumbs, and the pepper; mix gently, using your hands or a fork, until combined. Level the mixture inside the bowl and divide it into 8 equal portions using a knife (cut in half like a cake, and then each half into quarters) and form into 2½ by ½-inch cakes.
5 Spread the remaining ¼ cup bread crumbs on a shallow plate. Press each cake into the bread crumbs to coat on both sides.
6 Transfer the cakes to the prepared baking sheet and gently brush on top with olive oil or coat with cooking spray. Bake until the zucchini cakes are golden brown, about 25 minutes, turning once and brushing or spraying in between.