Roasted Vegetable Quinoa Salad

So now you have made your own harissa.  What can you do with it?  Harissa has a bit of a kick due to chilies which are in it.  Below is a recipe which conveniently uses exactly the same amount as the harissa recipe I posted.  This also is based upon at home in the whole food kitchen.  This recipe uses a bunch of fresh vegetables which are then roasted to bring out their sweetness, tossed with quinoa and harissa to balance out the flavors.  It also store well and although best eaten at room temperature, it is also delicious cold if you are like me and can't wait for it to be brought to room temperature before eating it.

Roasted Vegetable Quinoa Salad with Harissa

serves 4-6

2 medium zucchini, cut into 1 inch pieces

2 medium red, orange or yellow peppers, seed and cut into 1 inch pieces

2 cups cherry tomatoes

5 -6 tablespoons olive oil, divided

sea salt

1 medium onion, cut into 1/2 inch wedges

4 cups cooked quinoa, cooled to room temperature

1/3 cup harissa

1/2 cup chopped flat leafed parsley

5 oz. feta cheese (I really like the 360 brand at whole foods)

Preheat oven to 400 F.  Line 2 baking sheet with parchment paper.  Place zucchini, peppers, tomatoes in a large bowl and toss with 3-4 tablespoons olive oil and about a 1/2 teaspoons salt.  Divide the vegetables between the two parchment lined baking sheets and place in the preheated oven to roast for about 30 minutes.  Be sure vegetables are in a single flat layer or it will roast unevenly.  Stir vegetables every 10 minutes to ensure even browning.  Once vegetables are lightly browned, remove from oven and set aside to cool to room temperature.

Warm the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a skillet over medium heat.  Once the oil is hot, add the onion and saute for about 5-6 minutes or until just turning lightly brown.  Cook on lower heat for another 10-15 minutes to caramelize the onions.  Stir every couple of minutes to ensure that the onion doesn't burn.

Transfer quinoa to a large bowl.  Fluff with a fork and then add the harissa to the quinoa.  Mix well.  Add the roasted vegetables, onion and parsley.  Toss to combine.  Taste and season with salt as needed.  Crumble the feta cheese over the top.

Red Quinoa and White Bean Salad with Parsley and Lemon

Quinoa has to be one of my favorite grains.  It is light and fluffy, versatile, colorful and delicious.  You can add stock when you are cooking and give it instant flavor.  You can add it to pancakes to make it healthier and heartier.  I also have a cache of white beans, mostly canned, but dried ones as well.  This salad adapted from Plenty More by Ottolenghi combines two of my always in stock items for a pleasant, easy salad.

Red Quinoa and White Bean Salad with Parsley and Lemon

2/3 cup red quinoa

1 small bunch flat leafed parsley, cut finely

4 green onions, white and green parts thinly sliced

1 can (about 15 oz.) cannellini (or other white beans), drained and rinsed

1/2 large lemon, zest the hald you are using, juice the half as well to add to salad

1/2 teaspoon allspice

1/4 cup olive oil

salt and black pepper to taste

Bring a sauce pan of water to boil.  Add the quinoa and simmer for about 12-14 minutes until light and fluffy (or according to package instructions).  Drain and rinse in cold water and set aside to dry completely.  Once dry transfer quinoa to a large salad bowl.  Add the shredded parsley, green onions, beans, lemon, allspice, olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt and black pepper to taste.  Stir together.  Let rest for about 5 minutes to let flavors come together.  Taste again and adjust seasonings.

Squash stuffed with Quinoa

I have come to like quinoa quite a lot.  It is an easy grain to work with and maintains a light fluffy property when working with it.  I only wish that is was cheaper than it is, but I still must buy it from time to time to get my fix.  I have used it in pancakes, stuffed in squash, and as a salad.  Since it is a grain, it is filling, but you can add a meat if you feel like you want some protein.  This particulary recipe is based off one from The Beekman 1802 Heirloom Vegetable Cookbook.  There are a lot of great recipes in this book, though I have only attempted a couple of them.  More will certainly be tried when we have a better chance at fresh vegetables...meaning spring.  One of the things that gives this recipe such excellent flavor is the boiling of quinoa in black tea.  If you are thinking you want more flavor for your grains this is a great way to add flavor.  I sometimes add stock to my rice or other variations of adding flavor to the grain as you are cooking it so it absorbs that flavor as the grain is cooked.  Experiment and enjoy!

Quinoa Stuffed Squash
2 winter squash (small spaghetti, acorn, etc.), cut into halves and removed the seeds
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 black tea bag
3 scallions, thinly sliced
3 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
1 cup red quinoa
1/4 teaspoon thyme
2 tablespoon unsalted butter
1/2 cup pecan, roughly chopped

Preheat oven to 450F. Cut a little off the squash if they don't lie properly, so that they will stay flat while in the oven and the filling won't spill out.  Put the squash halves on a rimmed baking sheet and brush lightly with the 1 tablespoon of olive oil.  Sprinkle the cavities with brown sugar, half the salt and the pepper.  Bake for 30 minutes or until fork tender.

While the squash are roasting, bring two cups of water to a boil in a medium saucepan.  Remove from heat and steep the black tea bag for 3 minutes.  Remove tea bag.  In another medium saucepan, heat the other 1 tablespoon oil over medium heat.  Add the scallions, garlic and cook for about 2 minutes or until tender.  Add the quinoa, brewed tea, thyme and 3/4 teaspoon salt.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce to a simmer, cover, and cook for about 15 minutes or until the quinoa is tender and liquid has been absorbed.  Stir in the butter and pecans.

Divide the quinoa into 4 among the squash halves.  Tent loosely with foil and bake for 30 minutes or until very tender.

Serves 4

Red Quinoa Pancakes

I think I have mentioned that I have been on a whole grain kick recently.  I also love to eat breakfast...if I could I would cook and eat breakfast every morning over a leisurely glass of orange juice, coffee or tea.  So combining the love of breakfast and whole grains, I wanted to try Andrew Wiel's quinoa johnny cakes from True Food.  This is also a restaurant which I have only been to once, but everything I ate and drank there was delicious.  The kicker for this whole grain pancake is the toppings....plain yogurt and just a little real maple syrup.  The down side is that the batter needs to sit an hour....and who wants to wait an hour to cook up quick pancakes?  I think it was worth it.  I am going to try to reheat them tomorrow for breakfast since it makes quite a lot of pancakes.  Note: Reheating worked well.  They were almost as good as the morning I had made them.

Quinoa Pancakes
1 cup red quinoa (though you could use any color)
1 cup flour
2 tablespoons light brown sugar or cane sugar
1 tablespoon plus 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup milk (I usually use 2%)
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon olive oil
1 cup blueberries
greek yogurt  and maple syrup for serving

Bring a medium saucepan to boil with 2 cups of water and a pinch or two of salt.  Once boiling add the quinoa and stir. Cover and simmer for about 20 minutes or until all the water has evaporated and the quinoa is fluffy.  Set aside to cool.  Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and cinnamon in a bowl.  Whisk to combine.  In another bowl combine the milk, eggs, vanilla extract and oil.  Stir to combine all ingredients.  Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients just until combined.  Add the quinoa and gently mixed.  Set aside for about an hour.

Brush the cooking surface with oil.  Once hot add the batter in about 1/3 cup increments.  Add the blueberries and press them in gently.  When bubbles form and lightly browned, flip and cook until lightly browned.  Serve with yogurt and maple syrup.

Quinoa Salad with Leek, Bacon and Parsley

I have an obsession with collecting cookbooks.  Therefore, every Christmas there always are a few cookbooks on my wish list.  I love to read through them, learn new ingredients, and to give me inspiration to try even more different types of things and to think of new flavor combinations.  This past year I have also come to love farro a lot, but I went to buy some this summer and strangely enough there were problems with the supply, so instead I turned back to quinoa.  So with more quinoa in my cupboard and my mother-in-law wanting to try something with quinoa in it while she was visiting, I found this recipe based off of one in Homemade Winter by Yvette Van Boven.  My husband was a little bit cautious as he thought there were too many things going on, but I disagreed and the flavors seemed like they would go well together with the hearty quinoa adding some filling to otherwise not very filling salads.  In the end, it was a hit and the topping of bacon made everyone happy.

Quinoa Salad with Leek, Bacon and Parsley

Salad:

5 smaller leeks, cut into 1/2 inch pieces

1/2 cup dry white wine

salt

2/3 cup quinoa, soaked

5 oz. bacon

2-3 tablespoon sesame seeds

1 bunch parsley

arugula (3-4 cups)

Dressing:

juice of 1 lemon

2 cloves garlic, pressed

2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

In a non-stick skillet, fry the bacon.  Remove when crisp and let cool on a plate covered in paper towels.  Reserve the bacon fat to cook the leeks over a medium heat heat.  When they are hot, but not yet browned, add the white wine and lower the heat and braise with the lid on the pan for about 20 minutes.  Stir occasionally.

Bring a small saucepan of water to a boil.  Add the quinoa and a pinch of salt.  Cook the quinoa for 10 minutes.  Immediately drain and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking.  Make sure quinoa is well drained.  Check on the leeks.  If they are done, place on a plate to cool.  In a medium bowl, combine the quinoa, leeks, sesame seeds and most of the parsley.  (Leave a little parsley for garnish.)

For the dressing, whisk together the lemon juice and garlic.  Continue whisking as you add the olive oil.  Season with salt and pepper.  Pour over the quinoa and leek mixture.

Arrange the arugula in a bowl, then place the quinoa and leek mixture over the top.  Finally, garnish with the rest of the parsley and bacon.