These tasty little delights may look like they’d be a fair amount of work in the kitchen but I’m SO happy to tell you they’re insanely easy to whip up and the time they take to make really just lies in waiting for a sweet potato to bake and the quinoa to cook. They’re the kind of dish you serve your friends, impress your significant other with, and wish someone would make for you at a dinner party. All the while being so freaking healthy it’s silly. That’s right, these suckers are HEALTHY. As in: protein packed, antioxidant rich, low in saturated fat, HEALTHY TOWN, USA. Make them, please! Heck, while you’re at it make them twice!! xx- Sarah {more after the jump}

SWEET POTATO QUINOA PATTIES

{makes roughly 12 patties)

INGREDIENTS:

– 2 cups baked sweet potato, skins removed & mashed (approximately 2 medium sweet potatoes)

– 2 cups cooked quinoa

– medium yellow onion, diced

– 3 cloves of crushed garlic

– 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh thyme (more to garnish)

– 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

– sea salt

– fresh cracked pepper

– earth balance vegan butter or coconut oil for cooking

METHOD:

– Prepare quinoa according to package instructions (I cook 1 heaping cup with a scant 2 cups of water in my rice cooker).

– Preheat oven to 400 degrees, pierce sweet potatoes with fork and bake for 45 minutes or until soft. Remove skins, mash with a fork to remove all chunks and place in large mixing bowl.

– In a sauté pan combine onions, olive oil, a hearty pinch of sea salt and cook over medium-low heat until onions are translucent. Add garlic and cook an additional minute, stirring continually to prevent the garlic from burning. Add thyme at the very end and mix well.

– Add onions, quinoa, 1/4 teaspoon sea salt (more to taste), a bit of fresh cracked pepper to large mixing bowl with sweet potatoes and stir until well combined.

– Form mixture into golf ball size ball, flatten into a patty, and cook in earth balance vegan butter on a non stick pan for approximately 2 minutes on each side (you want them to brown up and crisp!). Repeat to make as many as you’d like. Enjoy with a generous sprinkling of fresh thyme leaves and some finishing salt! Save any leftovers in the refridgerator to make later.