Curried quinoa with peas
I never fail to teach my “students” at Gilda’s Club about quinoa (pronounced “keen-wah”).This truly amazing grain is grown at high altitudes in places like Chile, Columbia and Peru and has a rich history.
Quinoa is a complete protein, containing 8 essential amino acids. It is actually a seed, not a grain, and is gluten free. It is super easy to cook, similar to boiling rice only quicker. It is very versatile, you can make it into a breakfast porridge or enjoy it as a salad.
Tonight I whipped up a simple curried quinoa dish to go with the Seafood Magic Shrimp.
All I did was saute a diced onion in some oil, added a tablespoon or two of curry powder and a half a bag of frozen peas. Stirred that all around and added some cooked quinoa. Super easy, super delicious.
Curried Quinoa Summer Salad
Salad:
1cup quinoa, rinsed and drained
1 tablespoon Tamari (soy sauce)
1 tablespoon Curry powder
1 teaspoon minced garlic
¼ pound firm tofu, cut tofu ¼ inch cubes
2 cups minced flat leaf parsley
1 medium tomato, diced
1 medium cucumber peeled and diced
1 tablespoon fresh mint
1 scallion, trimmed and diced
Dressing:
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon mirin (sweet Japanese sake)
1 tablespoon brown rice vinegar
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
In a saucepan, combine the quinoa, 1 1/2 cups water, soy sauce, curry powder and-high heat. Reduce the heat and simmer until the water is gone, approximately 8 minutes. Set aside to cool.
Transfer the cooled quinoa to a large bowl and add the tofu, parsley, tomato, cucumber, scallion lime juice and mint. Toss well.
Whisk the dressing ingredients together, adjust to taste, sprinkle over salad, toss well and serve.
