Quinoa Recipes

Quinoa Salad

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup uncooked quinoa, well rinsed
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups water
• 1/3 cup diced Pickled red onion
• 1 cup of Seasoned Black beans (see my recipie below)
• 1 cup Grilled Corn(approximately the amount of kernels from one ear of corn)
• 3 medium tomatoes, seeded and cut into chunks
• 1/4 cup of chopped bacon bites
• 1 jalapeño, seeded and finely chopped (optional)
• 1/4 cup chopped parsley, including tender stems, packed
• 3 Tbsp olive oil

METHOD

1 Put the rinsed quinoa, salt and water into a pot and bring it to a boil. Cover and simmer gently until the quinoa absorbs all the water, about 10-15 minutes. Remove from heat and let sit for 5 minutes. Place into a large bowl and fluff up with a fork to help it cool more quickly.

2 Mix the prepped black beans, corn kernels, tomatoes, cheese, jalapenos, cilantro, and oil into a large bowl.

3 When the quinoa has cooled, mix it into the bean mixture. Add the red onion, salt, and/or more oil  to taste.

4. When serving place a 2 oz dollop of cottage cheese on top

Serve at room temperature.


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Stuffed Eggplants with Quinoa

* 1 large eggplants or 2 small eggplants
* 1/2 cup dry quinoa
* 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
* 1 small yellow onion, diced
* 1 tablespoons olive oil
* 3 cloves garlic, minced
* 1/2 cup crushed tomatoes
* 1 teaspoons oregano
* 1/2 teaspoon pepper
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
* 1/8 teaspoon allspice
* 1/8 teaspoon curry powder
* 1/4 cup fresh lemon Basil, chopped
* 1/2 cup water


Roasted Garlic Raita

* 1 head garlic
* 2 tablespoons olive oil
* 1 cups plain yogurt
* 1/2 cayenne pepper
* 1 tablespoons finely chopped yellow onion
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1/4 teaspoon pepper
* 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon Basil, chopped


Execution

First, we prep the eggplants. Cut them in half lengthwise and use a strong spoon to scoop out the soft flesh, leaving about 1/2 inch of flesh around the skin. Chop up the flesh that you removed, discarding any parts that are mostly seeds., Mix together the chopped eggplant, garlic, crushed tomatoes, and all the dried herbs and spices then Set aside to macerate.

Prepping the roasted garlic. Cut the top 1/4 off the head of garlic and place it in the center of a roughly 8-inch square of tin foil. Drizzle 1 tablespoon of the olive oil over the top of the garlic and then wrap up the tin foil around it so it’s in a nice little sealed up tin foil bushel. Set aside.

Now, to prepare the quinoa. RINSE your raw quinoa 3-4 times, this is important to remove the natural coating that will make it untasteful!!! In a medium-sized pot, bring 1 cups of the broth to a boil with the quinoa. Lower heat to a simmer and cover. Cook according to the time on the quinoa package, (I remove from heat and set aside at 15 minutes leave it covered at 20 minutes it is fully fluffy and ready to use).

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large frying pan, saute the onions in the olive oil over medium heat until slightly transparent. Add the chopped eggplant Mixture. Simmer over medium-low heat for 10 minutes.

Once the 10 minutes of simmering have passed, stir in the fresh lemon Basil and the quinoa and remove from heat. Place the eggplant halves on a large casserole pan, hollow side facing up.

 Fill the eggplants with the quinoa mixture and scoop any remaining mixture into the casserole pan around the eggplant halves. Pour 1/2 cup of broth and 1/2 cup of water into the casserole pan. Place the pan in the oven, and place the tin foil-wrapped garlic head in the oven next to the casserole pan. Allow them both to cook for 45 -55 minutes, or until the top of the quinoa stuffing is slightly golden and lightly crisp to the touch.

While they’re baking, you can start preparing the raita. Mix together the olive oil, yogurt, cayenne pepper, onion, salt, and pepper until blended. Cover and refrigerate.

Once the roasted eggplants and garlic are done cooking, remove each of them from the oven and allow the garlic to cool until safe to touch. Squeeze the garlic head’s contents out into the raita and stir to incorporate. Top with the fresh lemon Basil and serve immediately alongside the stuffed eggplant.