Over the past 15 years, I have spent a fair amount of time riding in a car with the Reverend Dr. Sterling Freeman. Sterling is an itinerant preacher, social justice activist, and a consultant to various nonprofits and foundations, as am I. (Being a food pilgrim, I must admit, is something of a side hustle for me.) As a onetime basketball standout at Davidson college, Sterling takes good care of himself.  He does not eat beef or pork,  and confines his consumption of chicken to his mother’s table in Little Rock. Sterling eats fish, but what about additional protein, I asked him. 

His answer was quinoa, and our conversations about his concoctions have led us to experiment in the Food Pilgrim Test Kitchen with this amazing seed that operates like a cereal or grain posing as meat.

Quinoa patties

According to my trusty Oxford Companion to Food, quinoa is actually a relative of spinach, looks like lamb quarters growing in the field before blooming, and was “the principal grain crop in the Andes before the conquest of America.”  The gorgeous flowering clusters on the plant look something like sorghum and hold tiny seeds--commonly white or red, sometimes yellow or black. The plants grow as tall as five feet. Quinoa flourishes at altitudes too high for maize and was historically grown in a belt extending from southern Columbia through Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, and well into Argentina and Chile.   Now it is being cultivated in the U.S., Canada, Kenya, India, Nepal, the United Arab Emirates, and in various European countries–England, France, Denmark, Sweden, The Netherlands, and Italy, according to an article in WOCATpedia.

Uncooked Quinoa

The Aztec and Inca peoples used quinoa in religious ceremonies and in stews, tortillas, and other breads.  Following harvest, to consume the seeds, the heads must be thrashed, winnowed to remove the husk, and the seeds washed in an alkaline bath to remove bitter toxins. The leaves of the plant can also be eaten as greens. 

Flour made from quinoa seeds works pretty much like wheat flour, only the nutritional value is higher. The protein value of the seeds, says Oxford, “is roughly equivalent to that of milk.” Quinoa contains all nine amino acids essential to human beings, and it is high in fiber, protein, antioxidants, and magnesium, iron, and phosphorus. It is also gluten free.

Rev. Sterling Freeman

Sterling explained to me that he first cooks up some quinoa—like rice, you rinse it and put it on to boil in water, then let it sit and fluff it with a fork. Then he adds some mashed up black beans, chopped onions and red bell peppers, feta cheese crumbles, and binds the concoction with an egg.  Shaped like little hamburgers, he fries the patties in olive oil.

In the Food Pilgrim kitchen, we substituted leftover field peas in our first batch of quinoa burgers and pinto beans in another. That worked pretty well, but chef Donna Campbell felt that the egg binder was not quite doing the job.  She then bought and added some quinoa flour to the mix which worked well.  We have since experimented with additions of cumin, spring onions, carrots, and Hatch Chiles in the patties. Another batch took on an Italian flavor with parmesan cheese, basil, and chopped tomatoes. The feta cheese was a constant in all these batches.  Donna also now adds a bit of peanut oil to the olive oil, which allows a higher heat and creates a crunchier crust.

Red and White Quinoa mixed

Using equal parts of red and white quinoa tastes better to me. Or maybe that is just an aesthetic preference for not-so-pale patties. Topping them with tzatziki sauce is also good with the cumin version.

If you are in a hurry, it is possible to buy cooked quinoa in a one-pound roll about the size of a package of polenta. Melissa’s Produce, out of L.A., sells these pre-cooked, hefty rolls that can stay at room temperature until opened. (Maybe you have seen Melissa’s pre-cooked lentils or black-eyed peas that come boxed in the produce section.) Melissa’s is expensive, sourced apparently from France, and I’ve only found it at Fresh Market, but this form is handy to slice and roll in your favorite additions when you are feeding a crowd.

No matter how you create them, the cooked patties freeze well and reheat with a microwave. They are a filling addition to a standard green salad for lunch. Small patties go a long way. I’m hooked. Thanks, Sterling!

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