Spinach & Quinoa Patties with Arugula & Pan-Fried Eggplant

Spinach & Quinoa Patties with Arugula and Pan-Fried Eggplant

Yields 3 servings

• 1/4 cup uncooked quinoa
• 2 tbsp whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup frozen spinach or 1 cup raw spinach, chopped
• 1/2 cup non-dairy milk
• a dash of sea salt
• olive oil cooking spray or olive oil, for greasing
• 1 tbsp Goddess Dressing per patty (Annie's and Trader Joe's are both good)
• 1 handful of fresh arugula per patty
• 6 large round slices of eggplant, chopped in half. 

Sweat the eggplant slices by sprinkling both sides with sea salt and allowing to sit for at least fifteen minutes. Once beads of moisture form on the outside, rinse the slices and dry them well. Set aside. Cook quinoa according to package until the germ separates from the seed. Once cooked, drain any extra water. Add spinach to the warm quinoa. If it is frozen, this will cause it to defrost quickly. If it is fresh, this will cause it to wilt (that's what you want). Add flour, non-dairy milk, and sea salt. Mix thoroughly. Grease a frying pan and set it over medium heat. Pour the quinoa and spinach mixture in three batches, cooking each patty by itself or doing two at a time, if your pan is large enough. Make sure the respray cooking oil in between each patty. Now, at first, the mixture will spread out on the pan like a pancake. Allow it to cook like this for a few minutes until it firms up a little. Then, scrape it together, form it into a patty, and allow it to fry for a few minutes. Don't worry so much about it burning, because it needs to be well-browned. Plus, the longer it cooks, the firmer it will be. Once it is firm enough, flip it over and brown on the other side. Be careful, these little buggers are a bit delicate. 

Remove each patty carefully from the pan and top with Goddess Dressing and arugula. Once the patties have been cooked, spray the pan again with cooking spray and throw in the eggplant slices. Sprinkle with garlic powder and Italian seasoning, frying quickly on each side. It shouldn't take long, only about 2 minutes per side.