QUINOA & SPINACH FRITTERS
Chickpea, tomato & olive salad, herb-yogurt sauce
3 ½ loosely packed cups organic baby spinach
Organic garlic & red onion
1 ½ ounces 0rganic feta cheese (D)
¼ cup organic bread crumbs (W)
Organic herb-yogurt sauce
Organic chickpeas & black olives
1 cup organic grape tomatoes
INSTRUCTIONS
1
COOK QUINOA
Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Bring 1 cup lightly salted water to a boil in a small pot. Peel three long strips of zest from lemon, avoiding bitter white pith. Add seasoned quinoa and zest to boiling water. Return to a boil; stir. Cover. Reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer 16 minutes, or until liquid is absorbed and quinoa is tender.
2
PREP SPINACH
Meanwhile, roughly chop baby spinach. Mince garlic. Heat about 1 ½ tablespoons olive oil in a large nonstick pan over medium heat. Add baby spinach to hot pan; stir. Cook 1 minute. Add garlic and stir. Cook 1 minute, or until spinach wilts. Lightly season with salt and pepper. Transfer to a large bowl.
3
SEASON YOGURT SAUCE
Halve lemon; squeeze juice of half lemon into herb-yogurt sauce, avoiding seeds. Stir to combine.
4
START FRITTER MIX
Crack egg into bowl with spinach. Whisk with a fork to combine. Add bread crumbs. Mix thoroughly. Set aside.
Pro Tip: The bread crumbs will absorb moisture from the egg and spinach; this allows it to mix with the quinoa.
5
MAKE SALAD
Halve grape tomatoes. Remove black olives from chickpeas; roughly chop. Place chickpeas in a medium bowl. Cut root end off red onion; remove peel. Small dice into about ¼-inch pieces. Add tomatoes, olives, and onion to bowl. Squeeze juice of half lemon over salad to taste. Add 1-2 tablespoons olive oil. Salt and pepper to taste. Toss to coat.
6
MAKE FRITTERS
Remove lemon zest from quinoa; discard. Add quinoa to bowl with spinach and bread crumbs. Crumble in feta cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Stir until fully incorporated. Form mix into four fritters, about ¾-inch thick. Transfer fritters to a foil-lined baking sheet. Place in refrigerator. Chill 5 minutes.
7
COOK FRITTERS
Meanwhile, place whole wheat pita directly on oven rack. Bake 5-6 minutes, or until toasted. Wipe out pan used for spinach and return to stovetop over medium-high heat. Add about 2 tablespoons cooking oil. Place fritters in hot pan. Cook 4 minutes on each side, or until golden brown and crispy.
8
PLATE YOUR DISH
Cut pita into eight pieces. Pile chickpea salad on each plate. Shingle four pita slices on side of salad. Place two quinoa-spinach fritters on top of salad. Spoon herb-yogurt sauce over fritters. Enjoy!