Love quinoa but want to expand your repertoire beyond the usual grain salad or pilaf? These crisp-crusted quinoa cakes provide a mild canvas for the bold flavors of olives, peppers, and greens. With white beans to give them some heft and heartiness, they make a terrific meatless main course.

Ingredients

• 1 cup white quinoa
• 2 cups lower-salt chicken or vegetable broth
• 1 cup cooked white beans (from a 15 oz. can), drained and rinsed
• 2 large eggs
• 3 peeled medium cloves garlic, 2 minced, 1 left whole
• 2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh thyme
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup coarse fresh white breadcrumbs (see below)
• 1/2 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
• 1/3 cup pitted kalamata olives, finely chopped
• 1 cup coarsely chopped roasted red peppers
• 5-1/2 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 teaspoons sherry vinegar
• 5 ounces (5 lightly packed cups) baby kale, baby arugula, or other baby greens

Preparation

1. Rinse the quinoa under cold water and drain.
2. Line a medium rimmed baking sheet with parchment. In a 2-quart pot, bring the broth to a boil. Add the quinoa and simmer, covered, over low heat until the broth is absorbed and the quinoa is tender, about 15 minutes. Transfer the quinoa to a medium shallow bowl and spread out to cool to room temperature.
3. Put the white beans in a large bowl and mash with a potato masher or a fork. Add the eggs, minced garlic, thyme, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and stir with a fork to combine. Add the breadcrumbs, parsley, olives, and cooled quinoa and stir to combine. Form the mixture into six 3-inch-wide patties about 1/2-inch thick, and transfer to the lined baking sheet.
4. Put the roasted red peppers, 2 Tablespoons of the oil, the vinegar, the whole garlic clove, 1/4 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of pepper in a blender and blend until very smooth, about 1 minute. Transfer the sauce to a small serving bowl.
5. In a heavy-duty 10-inch skillet, heat 2 Tablespoons of the oil over medium heat until shimmering hot. Carefully add half of the patties to the pan and cook, flipping once, until browned on both sides, about 5 minutes total. Transfer to paper towels to drain and repeat with the second batch of quinoa cakes.
6. Toss the greens with the remaining 1-1/2 Tablespoons oil and salt and pepper to taste.
7. Serve the quinoa cakes over the greens with the red pepper sauce on the side for drizzling.

Cook’s Note

To make fresh breadcrumbs, rip slices of slightly stale bread into pieces (remove the crusts first if your bread is very dense) and fill your food processor or grinder about halfway full; any more can jam up the blades. Pulse until you get the size crumb you like. Make breadcrumbs ahead and freeze them in a zip-top bags; thaw when needed.