MacKellar Farms & Edamame Quinoa Cakes W Egg and Spicy Avocado Sauce

Posted on September 29, 2014 - Category: News & Articles Recipe

Article Posted on The Yum Yum Factor: http://theyumyumfactor.blogspot.ca

SEE BELOW FOR RECIPE

We love edamame. If you have ever eaten sushi, you have probably had steamed, salted edamame in the pod and might not even know what edamame is apart from the fact that it is a tasty snack. Let me give you quick answer: it is the preparation of immature soybean in the pod and it’s packed with protein, fibre, folates, vitamin K and more. In North America, we just call the actual soybean edamame, regardless of how it’s prepared or whether it’s in the shelled or removed. One of my favourite, quick lunch bag items, we go through this stuff like an ape goes through bananas.

As much as we love the stuff, I am becoming increasingly wary of the soybeans coming from overseas because I can’t really be sure about the quality. I keep reading all kinds of stuff about GMO’s and other sketchy practices in production, never mind the fact that they are coming half way around the world to land in my freezer so who really knows how fresh they are? It is widely reported that 99% of our edamame is a GMO coming from either China , Thailand or some other East Asian country but even most of the American grown soybean is a GMO product, so what are we supposed to do?

I was told about an Ontario farm that is growing non GMO soybeans and set out to find some. A handsome young farmer, Jacob MacKellar, is the fourth generation running the show at MacKellar Farms and he is growing what I was looking for. He is the very first producer of 100% naturally grown, non GMO edamame in Canada, representing the mere 1% of edamame grown right here at home and he also happens to be in my Province. I got in touch and asked if I could sample some of the product and received a care package of freshly picked as well as bags of frozen in the out of the shell edamame to try.

We boiled and salted the fresh and ate them straight up because I wanted to really taste the soybean in it’s natural state. They were delicious and fresh and I will be forever spoiled from now on. I tried the frozen, shelled edamame in two different recipes and again, the quality was excellent. No freezer burn, good colour, fresh taste and great texture and best of all, grown right here in Ontario, traceable, accountable, all natural and nutritious.
SOLD!

To find a store that sells MacKellar Farms edamame near you, click here

Clearly, I was given the edamame I used to make this recipe but my opinions are absolutely mine and this will now be my regular edamame in my home.

Edamame Quinoa Cakes:

1 cup cooked, cold quinoa
1 cup frozen, shelled edamame
1 clove garlic, chopped
2 scallion, chopped
zest from 1/2 lime
1/3 cup cilantro
1/2 tsp kosher salt
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup panko

Put the cold quinoa in a big bowl.
Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and cook your frozen edamame for about 3 minutes, drain under cold water and set aside.
Into your food processor: garlic, scallion, lime zest, cilantro, salt and the well drained, cooled edamame. Pulse until it’s smooth but still a bit coarse with texture – don’t puree it.
Scrape into a bowl with the quinoa and blend well, taste for salt and add more if needed. Now add in the egg and stir again, mixing well and finally, add in the panko. After a final mix, put the mixture into the fridge while you get your sauce together.