Quinoa

Last night I was wondering what I could do with some quinoa I had in the cupboard that needed using up. One of the things I love about quinoa is that it’s a complete protein – brilliant for vegetarians. Anyway, I found inspiration in the June 2012 issue of Australian Good Taste magazine. Of course, being me, I had to mess around with the original recipe. So Melissa’s Quinoa Cakes have metamorphosed into a quinoa frittata. Hope you enjoy it. 

Ingredients:

2 cups cooked quinoa (about 3/4 cup raw)

100 g feta, crumbled

4 eggs, lightly whisked

1 carrot, peeled, coarsely grated

55 g (1/3 cup) toasted pine nuts

20 g baby spinach, chopped

2 Tbs fresh mint, chopped

2 Tbs sultanas

1 tsp finely grated lemon rind

1 tsp each of ground cumin, coriander, turmeric and paprika

Combine quinoa, feta, egg, carrot, pine nuts, spinach, mint, sultanas, spices, and lemon rind (everything really) in a bowl and mix it all up. Season with salt and pepper.

Heat a small amount of oil in a frypan over a low-medium heat. Pour quinoa mixture into pan and cook until base is cooked – probably about 5 minutes. Place under a hot grill to finish cooking.

This is a great way to use up any quinoa leftovers lurking in your fridge, but seriously, don’t wait until you have left-over quinoa. 

Do what I did and use the recipe for inspiration. Vary the spices, maybe add some chilli. Some fried onion and garlic would be great in it. Or ramp up the fresh flavours with loads of fresh herbs. 

(If you’ve never cooked quinoa before, just put 1 part quinoa in with 3 parts of water and simmer it for about 15 minutes. You can also add flavour by using stock, or some wine.)

S is for Salads

Salads are so good for us and they have so much potential. The days of lettuce, tomato and maybe onion and cucumber are long gone. There is nothing as satisfying as a salad when a salad is what you really want to eat. You know those times when you want to feel the crunch of the vegetables, enjoying the different textures and flavours. Add to this the visual delight offered by a multi-hued array of food and what more could you want. By the way, did I mention that they’re mostly quick to prepare as well.

 Salads are a great way to get your five-a-day. And making salads is one area where cooking can be fun. Let your imagination go. Making salads isn’t a precision science. Play around with quantities and ingredients to suit your own tastes. 

Here are some of my favourites.

Spinach, Peas and Feta (thanks to Jamie Oliver for this one)

Make a salad of baby spinach, fresh green peas straight from their pods and bite-size chunks of feta cheese. Dress it with lemon juice and extra virgin olive oil (I use about 2 parts juice to 5 parts oil). Season with pepper. Taste it and add salt if it needs it (remember, the feta is salty).

 

Watermelon and Feta

Toss cubes of watermelon in a bowl with thinly sliced red onion. Throw in chunks of feta. Drizzle some good quality balsamic vinegar over the top – not a lot. 

My Version of Caprese Salad – Mozzarella with Slow Roasted Tomatoes

To slow roast cherry tomatoes, cut them in half and place cut side up on a baking tray. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast in a slow oven , about 100 C for about 90 minutes, until they’ve almost dried out. Tear up a ball of mozzarella cheese. Arrange mozzarella tomatoes and some fresh basil leaves on a plate – mix them together, make nice patterns, whatever you like. Drizzle over some extra virgin olive oil and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.