Red Quinoa Fritters with Sweet Chilli Mayo and an Apple, Walnut and Cranberry Salad

Nutrient rich and endlessly versatile, I use quinoa a lot in my cooking to make a variety of tasty dishes. These quinoa fritters are a firm favourite amongst family and friends, with the fresh herbs providing tempting aromas and delightful flavour. You can present them as a delicious snack or hors d'oeuvre, along with a dipping sauce, or make a meal out of them by serving them alongside a fresh, crunchy salad.

To make the fritters:

Cook 1½ cups of red quinoa.

Combine the cooked quinoa with the following ingredients:

2 tbsp of chopped parsley

2 tbsp of chopped mint (the smell is heavenly!)

2 finely sliced spring onions

The finely grated rind of 1 lemon

½ tsp of sea salt

1½ cups of nutritional yeast

4 tbsp of brown flour

The equivalent of 3 eggs using vegan egg replacer*

Taking one heaped tbsp at a time, fry the mixture in virgin olive oil until the fritters are nicely browned on each side.

This makes 12 fritters. I serve them with chopped mint, parsley and finely sliced red onion sprinkled on top.

*To make a vegan egg replacer:

If you can’t, or don’t want to, use vegan egg replacer, you can use the following as the equivalent of 3 eggs:

Finely grind 3 tbsp of chia seeds. Place in a bowl and stir in 9 tbsp of water. Allow to sit for 30 minutes. The mixture will thicken to a gel-like consistency. Just before incorporating into the recipe, stir in a pinch of baking powder.

To make the sweet chilli mayo:

Thoroughly combine the following ingredients:

3 tbsp of vegan mayonnaise (make your own by following this recipe)

1 crushed garlic clove

1 tbsp of sweet chilli sauce (make your own by following this recipe)

To make the apple, walnut and cranberry salad:

Combine the following ingredients in a bowl:

1 chopped red apple

1 cup of roughly chopped walnuts

1/3 cup of cranberries

4 cups of baby spinach leaves

Then add the salad dressing:

Combine the following ingredients and stir thoroughly:

¼ cup of apple juice

2 tbsp of apple cider vinegar

1 tbsp of agave syrup

¼ tsp of sea salt

1/8 cup of olive oil

¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper