quinoa « Vegan Eats

Posts Tagged 'quinoa'

Yam and Potato Quinoa Curry

Published November 14, 2010 Uncategorized 2 Comments
Tags: curry, gluten-free option, kale, potato, quinoa, stew, sweet potato

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I didn’t quite know what to call this stew at first, because it was really just one of those ‘kitchen sink’ dishes that made use of whatever had been lying around the refrigerator for a while. In my case, it was some potatoes, a carrot, pumpkin purée, ginger, black kale, and chickpeas. I think my favourite part is the whole fennel seeds, because every now and then you get a delicious licorice-like pop when you bite down on one. If you buy the canned pumpkin purée to make this, you’ll likely have at least a cup leftover. If you wanna use it up and don’t know how, check out this previous post for a sweet biscuits recipe. Or you could use it up by buying a pre-made pie crust and searching out an easy pumpkin pie recipe.

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons fresh ginger, peeled and minced
1 cup onion, diced
1 large carrot, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
3 or 4 Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and chopped
1 sweet potato, peeled and chopped
2 tablespoons tamari (or other good quality soy sauce)
2 teaspoons fennel seeds
1 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon curry powder
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 19oz. can tomatoes
3/4 cup canned pumpkin purée
3 cups water
1 cup quinoa, rinsed
4 cups kale, spinach, or other leafy green, chopped
2 cups chickpeas
Juice of 1/2 a lemon

Instructions:
1. Heat the olive oil in a stockpot over medium heat. Add the garlic, ginger, onion, carrot, and celery. Sauté, stirring frequently for about 8 minutes.
2. Add the potato, sweet potato, tamari, fennel seeds, cumin, coriander, curry powder, turmeric, cloves, cinnamon, salt, and pepper. Cook for another 6 minutes, stirring often.
3. Stir in the tomatoes, pumpkin, and water. Turn heat up and bring to a boil. Once boiling, turn heat down to medium-low and cover. Let simmer for about 15 minutes.
4. Stir in the quinoa and let simer, covered for another 20 minutes or so. Add the leafy greens and chickpeas and let cook for another 5 minutes, or until both the quinoa and the potatoes are cooked through.
5. Uncover and stir in the lemon juice before serving. If needed, season to taste with more salt.
Serves: 5 to 7

Quinoa-Pumpkin-Apple Stuffed Portabellas

Published November 4, 2010 Uncategorized 1 Comment
Tags: apple, mushroom, pumpkin, quinoa, squash

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Sticking with the seasonal theme, I’m following up my last entry with another pumpkin recipe. Obviously you can substitute the pumpkin here with whatever other winter squash that’s in season. Butternut squash is always a popular favourite. If you do end up using a pumpkin, make sure you buy a small one that feels heavy for its size. The tiny pumpkins are used in cooking and are often labeled ‘pie pumpkins’ because their flesh is soft and sweet, while the bigger, decorative, jack o’ lantern pumpkins aren’t so good for cooking or baking with. Make sure you completely peel your squash and remove all the pulp and seeds from it. Sometimes this can seem like a bit of a hassle, I know, but the pie pumpkins are usually so small that it won’t even take more than 5 minutes. Also, make sure you save the seeds, toss them in a bit of olive oil, salt, and cumin, and roast them in the oven for about half an hour or so at 300ºF for a delicious snack. One more thing, you might have bit of leftover quinoa mixture once all your mushrooms are stuffed, but no worries, it’s pretty tasty on its own.

Ingredients:
1 cup quinoa, rinsed
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon fresh ginger, minced
1/2 cup onion, diced
2 cups pumpkin, diced (remember: the smaller you cut them the quicker they’ll cook)
2 cups apple, diced
2 heaping tablespoons fresh thyme
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 teaspoons cider vinegar
3 tablespoons pure maple syrup
1/4 cup water
5 or 6 portabella mushrooms

Instructions:
1. In a saucepan combine the quinoa with 1 1/2 cups water and bring to a boil. Once boiling, turn heat down to low, cover, and let simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and let sit, still covered, for another 15 minutes. Remove lid and fluff with a fork. Set cooked quinoa aside for later.
2. Preheat oven to 375ºF. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic, ginger, and onion. Sauté, stirring frequently, for about 6 or 7 minutes, until the onion is softened.
3. Stir in the pumpkin, apple, thyme, allspice, cloves, salt, and pepper. Cook for about 5 minutes. Add the cider vinegar, maple syrup, and water. Stir through, turn heat down to medium-low, cover with a lid and let simmer for about 15 minutes, or until the pumpkin is fork tender.
4. Meanwhile, brush the mushrooms with olive oil and sprinkle with a bit of salt and pepper. Place them with their gills down on a lightly greased baking tray and throw them into the oven for about 10 minutes, or until the edges are a bit wrinkled.
5. Remove mushrooms from oven. Remove the pumpkin and apple mixture from the stove top and stir in the cooked quinoa. Flip the mushrooms over so their tops are down and pack a few big spoonfuls of the quinoa mixture onto them. Place the mushrooms back into the over for another 8 minutes or so. Drizzle with a bit of olive oil before serving. Garnish with fresh parsley if you want.

Asparagus Quinoa Sushi with a Lemon-Ginger Dipping Sauce

Published May 9, 2010 Uncategorized 8 Comments
Tags: asparagus, gluten-free option, japanese, quinoa, seasonal

Today is a good day. It’s spring time (although you wouldn’t know it from the weather recently), I’m finally settled in the city, and the farmers’ market season is nearly in full swing. Speaking of which, last Thursday afternoon I took a short subway ride up to North Toronto and checked out the AppleTree Market at Eglinton Park. They had some cool stuff, including one vendor whose farm had dried and smoked their jalapeños from last season and were selling the chipotles in little paper bags! It was especially cool, because it was the only time I had ever seen chipotle peppers in their whole form and not canned, stewed in adobo sauce. However, my first priority that afternoon was to pick up my share of the first wave of this season’s asparagus! It’s definitely one of my favourite vegetables, which is why I held out the entire winter without grabbing any Peruvian asparagus from my local supermarket and waited until now for the local stuff. It tastes better that way.

I had wanted to make quinoa sushi for a long time and after thinking about how beautiful the flowery asparagus tips would look sprouting from the cut sushi roll, I figured this was the perfect opportunity. Asparagus loves lemon and this dipping sauce is a great sweet and sour compliment to the roll; I think it really made the dish. I ran into one problem while making this recipe though… I don’t have a camera, since I had been using my parents’ digital camera in my previous posts while I was living with them. However, lucky for me, I live with two professional photographers! Big ups to Landon for taking the awesome photo above.

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 tablespoon fresh ginger root, peeled and minced
½ cup onion, diced (I used a vidalia onion because of their sweetness)
1 cup quinoa, rinsed well
1½ cups low-sodium vegetable broth or water
Sea salt, pinch
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon rice vinegar
1 tablepoon sugar
1 tablespoon tahini
10 asparagus spears, tough stems removed
½ red bell pepper, thinly sliced
½ avocado, sliced
3 sheets nori seaweed

Instructions:
1. In a medium-sized saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the ginger and onion. Sauté, stirring frequently, for about 4 or 5 minutes until fragrant and the onion is beginning to soften.
2. Add the quinoa and sauté for another 2 minutes, stirring often. Add the vegetable broth (or water) and a pinch of salt. Turn heat to high and bring to a boil. Once boiling immediately turn heat to low and cover. Simmer for about 15 minutes or until the quinoa has absorbed all the liquid. Remove from heat and let sit, still covered, for 10 minutes. Remove lid and let quinoa cool to room temperature (spread out the grain on a large plate to quicken the cooling process).
3. While the quinoa is cooling, fill a large bowl with cold water and ice and then bring a large saucepan of water to a boil. Remove the woody stems from the asparagus and throw the spears into the boiling water. Blanch for 30 seconds, remove from water with tongs, and immediately immerse them into the ice water. Let them sit in there cooling for now.
4. In a small bowl whisk together the rice vinegar and sugar with a fork until the sugar has dissolved. Add the vinegar and sugar mixture, along with the tahini, to the cooled quinoa and stir well.
5. Place a sheet of nori onto your bamboo sushi rolling mat* with the shiny side face down. Cover the bottom half with quinoa (about 6 or 7 tablespoons worth) like in the picture below, and then arrange the asparagus, red pepper, and avocado in a line in the middle of the quinoa. Here’s a YouTube video explaining how to roll sushi using bamboo mat. Repeat with remaining nori sheets and the rest of the vegetables.

For the Lemon-Ginger Dipping Sauce
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tablespoon organic cane sugar
2 teaspoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon rice vinegar
½ heaping teaspoon fresh ginger, peeled and finely minced

Instructions:
1. In a small bowl, whisk all the ingredients together until the sugar dissolves.

*If you don’t have a bamboo mat… you should buy one, because they’re really, really cheap. Just go to any kitchen supply store or even a dollar store to pick one up. Some grocery store might even carry them. Alternatively, you could use plastic wrap, but you won’t get a very tight roll.

Quinoa Tabouli

Published January 31, 2010 Uncategorized Leave a Comment
Tags: gluten-free option, middle eastern, quinoa, salad

Tabouli is a popular Middle Eastern salad. Traditionally, it consists of two main ingredients: parsley and cooked bulgur (a cereal grain made from wheat). I ditched the bulgur and went with quinoa, because everyone loves it and no one can pronounce it… just kidding (sort of), I really used quinoa here because its delicious, nutritious, and I cook with it a lot. In the last kitchen I worked at, we used to make a similar tabouli-type grain salad as a salad topping with leftover quinoa from the day before. I especially like this dish, because it’s pretty versatile and makes lots of leftovers; you can use it as a side or a main, top green salads with it, stuff it into roasted tomatoes, etc. I ate it alongside some cooked green beans and garlicky roasted sweet potatoes. Although, don’t be fooled by the moderately sized, photogenic portion to the left: my real dinner serving was much more… generous. I’m hungry. Let’s eat.

Ingredients:
1 cup quinoa, well rinsed
1½ cups low-sodium vegetable broth or water
1 or 2 cloves garlic, minced or finely grated
1/3 cup red onion, minced (if you don’t like raw onions that much, use scallions)
1/2 cup red and/or green bell pepper, diced
1 medium-sized tomato, diced
1/2 cup cucumber, diced
1/3 cup dried cranberries*
1½ cups fresh parsley, minced
1/2 cup fresh mint, minced
2 to 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Juice of one lemon
1/4 cup pistachios or walnuts (optional)
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Instructions:
1. In a small saucepan, combine the quinoa and vegetable broth/water. Add a 1/4 teaspoon salt and turn heat to high. Once boiling, immediately turn heat down to low, cover, and let simmer for 15 minutes.
2. Remove from heat and let sit, still covered, for another 15 minutes. Remove lid and fluff with fork. Let cool to room temperature.
3. Place cooked quinoa into a large mixing bowl. Add the garlic, red onion, bell pepper, tomato, cucumber, cranberries, parsley, mint, olive oil, lemon juice, optional nuts, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and black pepper, to taste. Mix well with a spoon or fork. If needed, season to taste with extra mint, lemon juice, and/or salt.
Serves: 3 or 4 mains, 6 or 7 sides

*For the gluten-free option, make sure the dried cranberries aren’t dusted in flour by the manufacturer to prevent them from sticking.

Roasted Pear and Butternut Squash Quinoa Salad

Published January 6, 2010 Uncategorized 1 Comment
Tags: gluten-free, pear, quinoa, salad, squash

Alright, so if you’re not into quinoa, get into it now! This whole grain is simple, quick, delicious, and really good for you. Quinoa has been around forever in parts of South America, where it originated. It’s become super popular more recently in North America, mostly because of its health benefits. Not only is it higher in protein than most whole grains, its also a complete protein source because of its balance of essential amino acids… well, that’s what Wikipedia says anyway. Whatever, I trust them… the internet never lies!

When preparing quinoa, make sure you rinse the uncooked grains very well under running water for a few minutes, preferably in a very fine metal strainer (thrifty chefs see: the dollar store). Quinoa grains have a slightly bitter coating and taste a lot better cooked when most of the bitter part is washed off.

This quinoa dish was the other salad that I served along with the candied pecan and apple salad at a party earlier last week. After I mentioned it in another blog entry, a few people asked for the recipe. So here it is, friends!

Oh, I should also point out that I was inspired by a similar recipe at the awesome blog, FatFree Vegan, so I can’t really take full credit for this recipe!

Ingredients:
Extra-virgin olive oil
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Fresh thyme leaves, minced
2 Bosc pears, peeled and cubed
2 cups butternut squash, peeled and cubed
2 shallots, diced
3 to 4 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup quinoa, rinsed
1 1/2 cup low sodium or homemade vegetable broth or water (if not using homemade broth, I swear by the low sodium organic one from Imagine)
1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped
Juice of half a lemon
2 tablespoons pine nuts, lightly toasted in a skillet over medium heat (about 5 minutes)

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. In a large bowl, toss the pear and butternut squash with 1 tablespoon of olive oil, 1/4 teaspoon sea salt, and a few turns from your pepper mill. Roast for 35 minutes, turning about halfway through the cooking time. Add a couple good pinches of the minced fresh thyme and roast for 5 more minutes. Remove from oven and let cool.
2. Meanwhile, in a saucepan, heat 1 teaspoon olive oil over medium/medium-low heat. Add shallots and garlic. Sauté for about 3 or 4 minutes, stirring often, until shallots are softening and garlic is fragrant (add a tablespoon or so of water if it begins to stick).
3. Add quinoa, 1 tablespoon of the minced fresh thyme, and big pinch of salt and pepper to taste. Sauté for another 2 or 3 minutes, stirring often.
4. Add vegetable broth or water, turn heat up to high and bring to a boil. Once boiling, immediately turn heat to low, cover saucepan, and let simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and let sit with the lid still on for another 10 minutes. Uncover, fluff gently with a fork and let cool for about 10 minutes.
5. In a large bowl, gently toss together the cooked quinoa, pear, butternut squash, parsley, lemon juice, pine nuts, 1/4 teaspoon more minced fresh thyme, and tiny drizzle of olive oil. Season to taste with bit more sea salt and black pepper.
Serves: 3 to 5

Vegan Eats

Posts Tagged 'quinoa'

Yam and Potato Quinoa Curry

Quinoa-Pumpkin-Apple Stuffed Portabellas

Asparagus Quinoa Sushi with a Lemon-Ginger Dipping Sauce

Quinoa Tabouli

Roasted Pear and Butternut Squash Quinoa Salad

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