Quinoa, sweet potato and broccoli with creamy pepper dressing

Another quinoa recipe that is very simple to make. It is inspired by the idea of a 'bowl', which generally comprises a few different components served together with a sauce poured on top. Usually there is something in the lines of a grain, a vegetable and a protein. In this recipe there is broccoli, starchy sweet potato and high protein quinoa with a nutty sauce.

Serves: 2-3

Ingredients
2 sweet potatoes
1 broccoli, broken into small florets and with the stems thinly sliced or chopped into small pieces
1/2 cup quinoa
1/2 onion, chopped
1/2 teaspoon oil

For the dressing:
2 tablespoons nut or seed butter (I used coconut-cashew nut butter, other good choices would be plain cashew nut butter, sunflower seed butter, almond butter and tahini - I would not recommend peanut butter in this dish as its flavour would be too strong)
1-1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon vinegar (I used apple cider vinegar but use any of your choice that is not too strongly flavoured like balsamic vinegar)
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground or crushed black pepper
2-4 tablespoons of water

Method

Cook the quinoa according to package directions and drain if necessary. Cook the sweet potatoes by any method of your choice (I microwaved them), peeled and cut into 2 cm/ 3/4 in chunks. Prepare the dressing by mixing the pepper and lemon juice with the nut or seed butter until creamy. Add the vinegar and mix well. Dilute to a desired consistency, adding a little water at a time. It should be pourable with a spoon but not too thin as it would sink to bottom of the bowl. Heat the oil in a pan over a high heat and stir-fry the onion for 2-3 minutes. Add the broccoli and stir-fry for about 5 minutes, until the broccoli is tender crisp. Reheat the components if necessary and divide the quinoa, sweet potato and broccoli between the bowls for each serving. Serve drizzled generously with the dressing.

Quinostrone

2013 has been declared the International Year of Quinoa so here is a quinoa based recipe for the New Year. The first time I made this version of the traditional Italian soup minestrone. The vegetables did not cook properly, the broth lacked flavour, the greens were bitter and the quinoa gave it an unpleasant texture. The next time I did not have all the vegetables needed for the common version of minestrone. I substituted some parsnip for the celery and used a larger amount of onion since I only had little garlic. I also cooked the quinoa separately and added it afterwards to the soup and also added the greens towards the end to avoid a bitter taste. The result was a tasty and satisfying stew, which is a meal in itself.

Ingredients
1/3 cup quinoa
400 g tomatoes, finely chopped (it is better to use canned tomatoes or add 3-4 tablespoons of tomato puree if you cannot find sweet, juicy tomatoes since tomatoes are an integral part of the soup)
1 large onion, finely chopped
1/2 parsnip, finely chopped (if you prefer substitute two sticks of celery)
1 carrot, finely chopped
1 clove of garlic, chopped
Two handfuls of green leaves of your choice, finely shredded (I used half each of kale and spinach)
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 crushed dried red chilli (or a pinch of dried chilli flakes)
1 teaspoon each:
Dried mixed italian herbs
Dried rosemary
Dried thyme

Salt and pepper to taste

Method
Cook the quinoa according to directions on the packaging. Drain if necessary when cooked and keep aside. Usually you need to add the quinoa to twice its volume (here 2/3 cup) of boiling water in a pan, allow it to return to the boil, lower the heat and cover and simmer for about 15 mins.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large pan over a medium heat, add the onion, garlic, parsnip carrot, dried chilli and half of the dried herbs. Saute for about 10 minutes until the onions soften. Add the tomatoes and cook for 7-8 minutes, stirring often, until the tomatoes are soft and juicy. Add about 750ml/3 cups of water, bring to the boil and simmer, covered for about 10 mins. Add the quinoa and the rest of the dried herbs and cook for another 5-10 minutes until the  vegetables, particularly the carrot and parsnip, are soft. If you are using any tough greens like kale, chard, collards or cabbage, add them now and cook for 3-5 minutes, until the greens are tender. Then stir in tender greens like spinach and cook for 1-2 minutes, until they have wilted. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve hot.

Quinoa congee with vegetables and tofu

Congee is a savoury rice porridge served in many Asian countries.  This version uses a mixture of rice and quinoa and adds vegetables and tofu. It is a light yet filling meal.

 

Servings: 2-3
    

Ingredients
50 g rice (I used short grain red rice)

50 g quinoa

2 sticks celery, finely chopped

1 medium carrot, finely chopped

1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh ginger

About 100 g tofu (not the silken variety), thinly sliced

1 teaspoon soya sauce (I used tamari)

1 teaspoon oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Method

Heat the oil in a pan over a medium heat and sauté the carrot, celery and ginger for 5 minutes. Add the rice and quinoa, mix well and cook for another minute. Add about 3 cups/750ml/12 oz water, bring to the boil, then lower the heat and simmer, covered, for 25-35 minutes. Check occasionally and add more water if a lot of it gets absorbed. The cooking time will vary according to the variety of rice. The rice I used took about 30 minutes to cook. Since the quinoa cooks quite quickly, ensure that the rice is cooked before proceeding further. 

In the meantime, heat a non-stick pan over medium heat and toast the tofu for about 5 minutes on each side until golden brown on both sides. Chop the slices into smaller bits and keep aside. When the rice has cooked, uncover and bring the mixture to the boil, adding some of water, if it is too thick (I added about 1 cup/250 ml). Add the soya sauce and simmer, uncovered, for about 5 minutes. Taste first before adding salt as the soya sauce can be quite salty. I did not add any salt. Serve in bowls topped with the tofu bits and sprinkled with black and more soya sauce, if desired.