Due to recent changes in our lifestyle, Tim and I have been looking at food – pretty much from every angle. Everything from the size of the portion to how long it will keep us full for! There has been a lot of learning over the month, and this has meant pretty much anything that was white or beige has now been banished from our cupboards. So now we are learning about new foods and where we can get our nutrition from.
One of the new foods I’ve been interested in is quinoa (apparently pronounced keen-wah). Apparently the Incas were right into this super grain. You can learn more about it over
here. It’s meant to be a super grain (largely for its high protein value), and as far as I can tell it’s the new couscous in the food world…so hot right now. I found
this recipe on Pinterest by the Gluten-free Goddess and modified the ingredients, to work with what I already had at home.
quinoa with beetroot, sweet potato, orange and chickpeas
serves 6-8
For the quinoa…
2 cups quinoa
4 cups water
2 beets, trimmed and quartered
1/2 large sweet potato, chopped into 1cm cubes
400g drained rinsed chick peas
2 handfuls of rocket leaves
1 orange, peeled, trimmed, cut into bite sized pieces
For the vinaigrette dressing…
1 shallot finely chopped
2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
4 teaspoons olive oil
1 pinch salt (optional)
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (180C).
In a roasting pan, combine the quartered beets and sweet potato with drizzled oil and a little salt. Roast for around 40-60 minutes. The sweet potatoes will probably be ready before the beets so just remove the sweet potato when it looks done, and put aside to cool. Check the beets with a fork and when done set aside to cool, chop into bite size pieces. Wash your hands immediately or they will remain a blushing shade of pink for some time.
While the roasting is taking place, make the quinoa — you’ll need to rinse it thoroughly! The seed has a bitter outer coating which you don’t want in your salad, so you’ll need to rinse it about 3-4 times. Best to use a sieve and a running tap to sort this out. Once the quinoa is rinsed you can place it in a pot and add your water, and get it on the stove. Bring to the boil then simmer, covered, for 15 minutes or until the liquid is absorbed and the germ turns opaque and splits from the seed – it resembles little curls. Break up the quinoa with a fork and toss with a little olive oil, then season with salt and pepper. Set aside to cool slightly.
To make the vinaigrette, steep the shallots in the sherry vinegar for at least 10 minutes, as this will take the edge off the shallots and balance out their sweet flavour. Combine the olive oil and Dijon mustard and add a pinch of salt and mix. Add in onion mixture and combine well. Set aside. It’s worth noting here that the oil and mustard won’t fully combine, they will remain separated and gluggy, but once the vinegar mixture goes in, it breaks down nicely. Taste to ensure a good balance of flavour. You may desire to add a little more oil or mustard depending on your taste.
Combine the cooked quinoa in a mixing bowl with the chick peas, orange, sweet potato and rocket leaves. Pour in the vinaigrette dressing and toss lightly. Lastly add the beets – placing them rather than mixing them in, this makes the staining more subtle. But if you want a pink salad mix it up all you like and the beets will stain everything.
