Chickpea and quinoa patties are like a grain salad in a crispy patty form.

The benefits are numerous. You take some of the guesswork out of dinner preparation, you become so familiar with the basics of a recipe that you can adapt it to suit your tastes (and those of your family or guests), and, perhaps most importantly, you increase your confidence in the kitchen every time you make it.

Get the recipe: Chickpea and Quinoa Patties with Pumpkin Seed Salsa

Sometimes a dish is so appealing that it immediately enters your repertoire. And sometimes it takes years and multiple iterations before a dish goes from “Let’s try this” to “When do we eat this again?”

That’s the case with this latest recipe, based on a concept I started playing with about a dozen years ago, when I was looking for ways to improve my opinion of quinoa. One of my favorite cookbook authors, Heidi Swanson, combined it with eggs, cheese, dried breadcrumbs, chives, onion, and more to make little patties that you pan-fry until crispy. I liked them a lot, but I felt the need to add some cooked barley to make them more appetizing. And I spiced them up with curry powder, among other changes.

A few years later, I revisited the concept through an America’s Test Kitchen recipe that followed a similar pattern, but with freshly made breadcrumbs, spinach, and sun-dried tomatoes, and topped with a little yogurt. So good. But something always kept them out of my regular rotation. What was it? I’m not sure.

I recently revisited this idea, this time adding chickpeas to the quinoa instead of barley, along with fresh cherry tomatoes and green onions. I wanted to veganize the recipe, so instead of eggs, I used a favorite substitute (at least when it comes to binding): vegan mayonnaise. The chickpeas added texture and protein, but not as much as I wanted, so I started thinking about a nutty topping. I remember loving a pumpkin seed salsa I tried years ago from chef Hugo Ortega, so I simplified it to put on top.

While still deliciously crispy and flavorful, these cakes are more delicate than previous versions, which is why I like to roast them rather than pan-fry them, making them less messy to bring to the table. Maybe that’s what made the difference, or maybe it’s just the appeal of the universal combination of beans and grains, but I’ve made them several times since I first developed them.

Actually, that’s just part of the recipe. This recipe entered my repertoire because it’s two dishes rather than one. You can eat this salsa by the spoonful, so its uses seem virtually endless. I know I’ll find plenty more ways to make it.

Get the recipe: Chickpea and Quinoa Patties with Pumpkin Seed Salsa