Recipe Collab: Quinoa Tempeh Cakes with Saffron Broth

Saffron is one of those ingredients, like truffles, that instantly elevates any dish. And like truffles, saffron is quite pricey. But our friends at Rumi Spice have found a way to not only harvest saffron sustainably while empowering Afghan women, but they also offer it in 0.5g packages so you can experience the world's priciest spice within your budget. 

For this dish, we steeped our saffron in a warm coconut broth and gently poured it over handmade Toasted Quinoa tempeh cakes. It sounds fancy, and tastes even fancier, but the preparation is really quite simple. 

P.S. If this dish seems a bit complex for you, try this simple Saffron Toasted Quinoa recipe first!

Ingredients:

Quinoa Tempeh Cakes:

• 1/2 cup cooked I Heart Keenwah Toasted Tricolor Quinoa, cooled
• 1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
• 1/2 block of tempeh (e.g., Lightlife Organic Tempeh 8oz block)
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp nutritional yeast
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp mustard powder
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• pinch of salt (to taste) 
• 1/3 cup panko bread crumbs
• 4 Tbs frying oil (e.g., sunflower, grapeseed or peanut)

Saffron Broth:

• 1/2 can (13.5 fluid ounce can) unsweetened coconut milk
• 2 pinches Rumi Spice Afghan saffron threads
• salt (to taste)
• 1 tsp maple syrup

Garnish::

• freshly chopped parsley

Instructions:

1. Grind all ingredients (except panko bread crumbs and oil) for quinoa tempeh cakes in food processor until a course dough is achieved.
2. Let rest in fridge for 20 minutes.
3. Form 6 patties by hand. If desired, use a ring mold to achieve more uniform look look (I used a salvaged protein powder scoop).
4. Gently coat each patty in panko bread crumbs and fry in oil (2 patties at a time) until a golden crust is achieved, or approximately 3 minutes on each side. Let fried patties rest on paper towels.
5. Separately, bring coconut milk to a gradual boil and add salt and maple syrup.
6. Remove from heat and stir in saffron threads. The coconut milk will turn a light shade of yellow.
7. Serve quinoa tempeh cakes in a shallow bowl with saffron broth.
8. Garnish with fresh parsley (optional).

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