Black-Eyed Pea and Quinoa Croquettes

I fell in love with quinoa before I even knew how to pronounce its name... but now I do!! Even though I prefer my original pronunciation better ;) OK time to fess up... who knows how to pronounce it for real??

This recipe comes from vegan with a vengeance... who's pad thai recipe I wasn't a fan of... but these tiny pucks are tasty little buggers! She says to bake them... for 40 minutes... who has 40 minutes?? I want to chow NOW. So I just sprayed a pan with olive oil and cooked them that way, just a few minutes each side to brown and warm them up... it's vegan, so there isn't anything that needs to get cooked up like raw eggs... although they do need some pan time... I wouldn't eat these straight up raw.


Black-Eyed Pea and Quinoa Croquettes
from Vegan with A Vengeance

For the Croquettes:

1 1/2 cup of cooked black-eyed peas
1 generous tablespoon of olive oil (totally forgot to put this in... they still came out good!)
1 generous tablespoon of tamari or soy sauce
1 cup of cooked quinoa (I used the red kind this time)
1 red or green chili, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon of dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon of dried basil
1 teaspoon of paprika

For the Coating:
1/4 cup of bread crumbs
1/4 cup of cornmeal
pinch of sea salt
freshly cracked black pepper
1/2 teaspoon of grated lemon zest

In a medium-large bowl, mash the black-eyed peas with a fork or potato masher. Mix in the olive oil, tamari and hot chili. Add the quinoa to the bowl, along with the spices and herbs and stir until well combined.

Combine the ingredients for the coating in a small bowl.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or lightly grease the sheet.

Shape the bean and quinoa mixture into small patties, roll in the crumb mixture and transfer to the baking sheet. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 40 minutes. Turn them after 20 minutes have elapsed. (Ok I didn't feel like waiting 40 minutes, so I packed them in 1/4 cup measuring cup to shape them, rolled them in the crumbs and pan fried them with a spray of olive oil... tasty!)

Serves 4. (HA more like 2.5 peeps)