ROTW, Week 5: Rosemary Maple Pork Chops with Quinoa Black Bean Cakes

That's a mouthful, huh?

So the birthplace of this recipe came at our local Trader Joe's, last weekend.  I thought to myself, "Hmm quinoa.  I've never made quinoa.  Recipe of the week!"

Seriously, this is the best resolution ever.

Oh, you want to see what it looks like?

Ok fine.  I give you the plate of (delicious) brown:

Not going to lie, I put those tomatoes on there just to jazz up the photo.  It was worth it though, they added a great layer to the cakes.

For the chops:

6 thin cut pork chops
3 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary, 11/2 teaspoons dried
2 tbsp maple syrup
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
generous sprinkling of salt and pepper

Combine all the ingredients in a shallow dish and let marinate for at least 1 hour.

For the quinoa cakes, adapted from the back of the quinoa package:

1 cup rainbow quinoa
2 cups chicken broth
2 tbsp olive oil
1 can black beans, drained
1 egg
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1 shallot, finely diced (I used 2, because I am a glutton.  Shallots are awesome.)
3 cloves garlic, minced
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup panko
1 lemon
spray canola oil


Cook the quinoa in the chicken broth by bringing the broth to a boil, then adding the quinoa and turning down to a simmer.  Once all the liquid is absorbed, take the quinoa off the heat and cool it down by placing it in the refrigerator.

While the quinoa is cooking, heat the olive oil in a shallow pan.  Cook the shallots and garlic for a few minutes, until they begin to turn golden brown at the edges.  Then take them off the heat, and add them to a food processor with the black beans. Pulse until chunky but do not puree.  Stir the mixture into the quinoa, and add the cilantro.  Flavour with salt and pepper to taste.  Refrigerate for at least 20 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 425.  Spray a non-stick baking pan with canola oil. Once the quinoa mixture is cooled, add the egg and stir.  Gather the mixture into large mounds and roll in the panko.  Flatten the cakes onto the baking sheet.  Spray cakes with canola oil, and bake for 15 minutes.

Prepare a grill or grill pan.  The chops should grill up in 10-13 minutes on medium heat, with a nice sear on each side.

When the cakes come out of the oven, drizzle with lemon juice before serving nice and hot alongside the pork chops.  Feel free to add a handful of chopped tomato for an additional burst of freshness!