Sriracha Quinoa Cakes with Goat Cheese and Spinach

Somehow, my move to The South triggered a new craving in my life: Hot sauces. I don’t know if it’s the over abundance of hot sauces in these parts (they are always placed on the table with the salt and pepper, regardless of your meal) or the increase in rich foods I’ve been eating (hot sauce cuts through the grease), but I can’t eat a bite of most savory meals without reaching for the Texas Pete’s or Sriracha.

Aside from offering an acidity to the dish and a bit of salt, there’s something about the taste of good hot sauce that amplifies all the other flavors. But you have to tread delicately, lest you overwhelm the dish.

This little recipe, adapted from We Are Not Martha, is built around Sriracha, so you don’t have to worry about it overpowering the other flavors. Instead, it offers a roasted heat to the crunchy quinoa cakes that are spotted with creamy bits of goat cheese and green spinach.

They were a fun little snack and would be good dipped in sour cream, I think. And the presence of quinoa just makes it feel healthy. Try them and let me know what you think!

Sriracha Quinoa Cakes with Goat Cheese and Spinach

Ingredients:

• 2 C cooked quinoa
• 3/4 C breadcrumbs (I used dried)
• 2 cloves minced garlic
• 1 C chopped baby spinach
• 1/4 C Sriracha hot sauce
• 2 oz. goat cheese, crumbled
• 2 large eggs, whisked
• 1/2 tsp fresh lime juice
• Pinch salt
• 1-2 T olive oil

In a large bowl, mix ingredients well. Form mixture into patties, 1-2 T each.

Drizzle EVOO in a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add patties to skillet.

Cook patties until lightly browned on each side, about 5 min. per side. Add more oil as needed in between batches.

Then you’re done! Each with a squeeze of lime juice and a dollop of sour cream, if you wish.

Enjoy, friends! xoxo