Quinoa Salad

A decade ago we didn’t hear the word quinoa (keen-wah) quite like we do now, the brilliant seed has made it to the front of the supermarket shelves & for good reason. It is a fabulous source or protein & a great substitute for starchy rice & pasta.

I often make a big pot on the weekend & eat it throughout the week for lunch & dinners, it pairs beautifully with meats, vegetables, herbs & spices.

My Tips For The Best Quinoa:

1. Wash it well! You can soak it in water if you have the time but a good rinse will get rid of the bitter flavour.

2. One cup dry quinoa yields about three cups cooked quinoa.

3. To cook one cup quinoa, you need 1 3/4 cups liquid.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of dried quinoa

• 1 3/4 cups water (or bone broth)

• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt

• 1 table spoon olive oil

• 1 cucumber

• 3 handfuls rocket leaves

• 1 hand full of parsley & mint

• 1 lemon zest & juice

• feta cheese

INSTRUCTIONS - guide from “The Kitchen”

1. Rinse the quinoa. Place the quinoa in a fine-mesh strainer. Rinse thoroughly under cool, running water. Rub and swish the quinoa with your hand while rinsing. Drain.

2. Toast the quinoa in a saucepan. Heat the olive oil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add the drained quinoa and cook, stirring constantly, to let the water evaporate and toast the quinoa, about 2 minutes.

3. Add liquid and bring to a boil. Stir in the water or broth and the salt. Bring to a rolling boil.

4. Lower heat and cook, covered, for 15 minutes. Turn the heat down to the lowest setting. Cover and cook for 15 minutes.

5. Let stand, covered, for 5 minutes. Remove the pot from heat and let stand for 5 more minutes, covered. Don't peek!

6. Fluff and eat! Uncover — You should see tiny spirals (the germ) separating from and curling around the quinoa seeds. Fluff the quinoa gently with a fork and serve.

Stir through rocket leaves, sliced cucumber, pumpkin seeds, chopped parsley, chopped mint, lemon zest & juice, good drizzle of olive oil & crumble feta cheese.

Pumpkin Soup.

Pumpkin soup

Ingredients

• 1 Butternut pumpkin

• 2 Tablespoons olive oil

• 1 Onion coarsely chopped

• 3 cloves garlic chopped

• 1 small knob ginger, sliced thinly

• 1/2 head cauliflower

• 1 Teaspoon curry powder

• 1 Litre of chicken stock

• 1 cup coconut cream

Method

1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat before adding the onion and garlic. Cook until the onion becomes translucent.

2. Add the ginger & curry powder, fry off for a couple of minutes

3. Toss the pumpkin & cauliflower in the oil and cook for 5 minutes. Add the stock and bring to a boil before reducing the heat to lower. Cook for 30 minutes or until the pumpkin is tender. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.

4. Pour the soup into a blender and blend until smooth.

5. Return to a saucepan and add the coconut milk & heat through.

Zucchini Fritters

Ingredients

• 1 small tub Ricotta cheese

• 2 small zucchini or 1 large zucchini grated

• 1 corn cob (kernels removed)

• ½ cup grated parmesan cheese

• 2 eggs

• ½ cup buckwheat flour (or flour of choice)

• 1 teaspoon baking powder

• salt & pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Grate zucchini, place on a paper towel and set aside.

2. Whisk together ricotta cheese, egg, parmesan cheese.

3. Add flour, baking powder, salt & pepper.

4. Squeeze excess liquid out of zucchini with paper towel & add to ricotta mix.

5. Add corn & mix well.

6. Heat a skillet with olive oil. Cook small picklet size fritters about 3 min each side or until golden. 

7. Serve with a squeeze of lemon

Nourish Bowl.

Maximise the nutrients in every meal!

I am a huge fan of mixing roasted starchy vegetables with non starchy salad veggies, it just brings so much comfort to a salad.

Ingredients

• Sweet potato

• Pumpkin

• Zucchini

• Carrot

• Red cabbage

• Avocado

• (serve with a source of protein - eggs, chicken, beef, lamb, tofu)

Instructions

1. Pre-heat oven to 180 deg c.

2. Slice pumpkin & sweet potato into chips, place on a baking tray and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil & bake for 20-30 minutes until tender..

3. Finley dice zucchini, carrot, cabbage or use a veggie spiralizer to make zoodles (zucchini noodles)

4. Fill your bowl with salad and dress when you’re ready to eat.

CREAMY LEMON YOGURT SALAD DRESSING:

• 1/2 cup plain yogurt , preferably Greek

• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

• 2 1/2 tbsp lemon juice

• 1 tsp garlic , minced

• 1 1/2 tsp coconut sugar

• 1/4 tsp black pepper

• 1/2 tsp salt

Oat Crust Quiche.

R.E.C.I.P.E
Serves 4-8, depending on how hungry you are.

For the crust
1 cup oat flour (buy or simply ground rolled oats in a blender or food processor)
2/3 cup ground almond meal
4 tablespoons corn starch
1 teaspoon sea salt
6 tablespoons cold-pressed coconut oil or organic butter
6 tablespoons ice-cold water

For the filling
6 eggs
200 g feta cheese

1 tsp dried oregano
½ tsp red chilli flakes
½ tsp grated nutmeg
Zest of 1 lemon
1 cup steamed broccoli florets
3 rashers cooked & diced bacon
1 cup cooked cubed pumpkin

METHOD
Preheat the oven to 180C. Combine the oat and almond meal, cornflour and sea salt in a bowl. Add the coconut oil and ice-cold water. With your hands, work the dry ingredients towards the centre until a dough forms. Gather the dough into a ball, wrap in bees wax wrap then chill for about 30 minutes.

Press the dough evenly into a 20cm / 8 inch tart case.
Trim the dough flush with the edge of the case.
Prick the bottom with a fork and blind bake for about 10 minutes. Reduce the oven to 170C.

Crack the eggs into a mixing bowl, whisk for 30 seconds, then crumble in the feta cheese. Stir in the oregano, chilli flakes, zest, nutmeg and a pinch of salt and pepper. Set aside.
Add broccoli, bacon & pumpkin to tart & pour over egg mixture.

Bake for about 30 minutes until the filling is firm and golden. Let it cool for a while before serving.

Bonaparte

Beetroot Hummus.

Beetroot Hummus

• 1 small roasted beet

• 1 can chickpeas

• 1 large lemon (zested)

• 1/2 large lemon (juiced)

• 1 healthy pinch salt and black pepper

• 2 large cloves garlic (minced)

• 2 heaping Tbsp tahini

• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

Instructions

1. Wrap beet(s) in foil, drizzle on a bit of olive, wrap tightly, and roast for one hour or until a knife inserted falls out without resistance. (I usually do this when i’m using the oven for something else, or roast a big batch of veggies for dinner) Once your beet is cooled and peeled, quarter it and place it in your blender or food processor. Blend until only small bits remain.

2. Add remaining ingredients except for olive oil and blend until smooth.

3. Drizzle in olive oil as the hummus is mixing.

4. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed, adding more salt, lemon juice, or olive oil if needed. If it’s too thick, add a bit of water.

5. Will keep in the fridge for up to a week.