Sweet Potato Quinoa Cakes

The other day I was running errands all by myself (something I view as a complete luxury!) and I stopped by our local Whole Foods to pick up a quick lunch.  I purchased a sweet potato quinoa cake in their prepared foods department, picked up the grocery items I needed there, and drove away.  I only purchased one cake because quinoa is protein-rich and I felt that one cake should be sufficient for a quick lunch. 

I regretted my decision almost instantaneously.  This cake was ah-mazing and if I wasn't well on my way to another errand, I would have seriously considered going back for more.  I kept having to stop between each bite to inspect the contents of the cake because it was so alarmingly good and there was one ingredient, if not two, that I could not place.  When I returned home I went straight to the computer and googled "Sweet Potato Quinoa Cake" to see if I could find the recipe, and sure enough, a blogger who had also eaten the same cake found the recipe on Whole Food's website.  I never found it.  I searched and searched and dug and dug and then surrendered to using Eating Bird Food.com's recipe.  I held my breathe before taking the first bite so wanting "Eating Bird Food" to have not altered the recipe too drastically.  To my delight *ahhhh*, a true replica! 

There is a little of everything in each bite of these amazing sweet potato quinoa cakes: a subtle sweetness, a variety of textures, and lots of visual appeal.  The recipe made about 13 cakes, which I stored in the freezer and then thawed for a quick yet nutrient-rich lunch and/or after school snack.  My kids and I equally loved them.  In fact, my son and I raced to see who could get to the freezer the fastest to have the last one.  Don't worry...with all the nutrients packed into each patty, I gladly handed it over *sigh* and then started writing the ingredients down on my shopping list so I could enjoy more next week.:-)

INGREDIENTS:
2 medium sweet potatoes (2 cups) peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 cup quinoa, prepared according to package directions
1 cup lundberg wild rice blend*
2 cups water
1/2 cup green onions, greens and whites chopped
1/2 cup cranberries, chopped coarse
1 tablespoon dried sage
1 tablespoon sea salt
3/4 teaspoon black pepper

*I found Lundburg wild rice blend in Whole Foods bulk rice bins.  It contains equal parts long grain brown rice, sweet brown rice, wild rice, wehani brown rice, and black japonica brown rice.  You may substitute it for your own rice blend that equals one cup, but I would recommend including at least 3 different types of rice.  Alternatively, you may also purchase the Lundburg wild rice blend online here.

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Place cubed sweet potatoes on lined cookie sheet, drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Roast in oven for 50 minutes, or until sweet potatoes are tender and yields no resistance when pierced with fork.

2.  Remove from oven and allow to cool.  Place in food processor and puree for 4 10-second pulses, or until sweet potato is smooth and creamy. Place in large bowl.

3.  Meanwhile, bring 2 cups water and rice blend to boil in medium-size pot over medium-high heat.  Stir once, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 50 minutes, or until rice is tender and all water is absorbed.  Remove from heat and allow to sit for 10 minutes.  Fluff with fork and then transfer to bowl with sweet potatoes.

4. In bowl with sweet potatoes and rice, add cooked and cooled quinoa, green onions, cranberries, sage, salt, and pepper.  Combine well.  Form mixture into 1 1/2-inch ball with hands and then flatten to form round patty; place on rimmed baking sheet lined with silpat or sprayed with cooking oil.  Continue to form patties with the remaining mixture.  (Note--my mixture yielded 13 patties and I needed 2 rimmed baking sheets,)

5.  Turn down oven temperature to 350 degrees F.  Bake until patties are lightly brown, crisp on the outside, and do not break or split when transferred, about 45-55 minutes.  Flip patties with flat spatula 30 minutes into baking process.  Serve warm or at room temperature.  Store in refrigerator up to 3 days.

Recipe adapted from eatingbirdfood.com.

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This recipe is linked to Simple Lives Thursday.