Tag Archives: Grain

Roasted Vegetable Quinoa

Posted in Recipes, Vegan / Veggie Friendly by

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Last week I picked up some insanely cheap fresh beetroot at my local market, (2 for 1,000). It’s insatiably good for your liver and my liver needs all the help it can get. Roasted beetroot is amazingly good just by itself, but I had some veg in the fridge that needed using so I decided to whip up this quinoa for my week day lunches. Tasty and healthy is always a winner for me. Switch up the veg depending on what you’ve got but be sure to keep in that beetroot.

Ingredients

1 cup quinoa (iHerb)

2 cups of water

2 beetroots

1 aubergine

8 mushrooms

15 cherry tomatoes

1 tablespoon of mixed herbs

2 tablespoons of freshly chopped herbs (I used cilantro)

A glug or two of olive oil

Directions

Rinse the quinoa in water then put in your saucepan with 2 cups of hot water and bring to the boil. Turn the heat down once it is boiling and cook until all the water has evaporated and the quinoa is clear. Turn off the heat and leave to cool.

Chop and peel the beetroot and cut into chunks, top with salt and pepper, drizzle with olive oil, and bake at 200 degrees for about 10 minutes. Meanwhile chop the cherry tomatoes in half, and the aubergine and mushrooms into bite sized pieces. After the beetroot had had 10 minutes alone, add the other vegetables to the pan along with the mixed herbs and a little extra olive oil, and cook for another 10 minutes. When the  veg is nicely roasted stir into the quinoa, make sure to include all of those lovely juices. Chop the fresh herbs and sprinkle on top along with a squeeze of lemon. Voilà a lovely beetroot and quinoa salad. Serve hot or cold.

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Beetroot Risotto

Posted in Recipes by

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The beautiful vibrant pink of this gorgeous risotto just makes my heart want to sing. It’s the perfect way to make an ordinary dish a little different and have a totally different taste. Years ago I worked as a humble waitress at a rather fancy restaurant back home and this dish was always featured on their summer menu. After I discovered some beetroot in my local supermarket I thought it was about time I recreated that lovely dish. The beetroot gives it such a deep robust flavour without taking away from its overall riosottoiness. You may also be unaware that Korean rice is very suitable for using in a risotto as it’s a short grain. I actually discovered this way back in my first year when I looked at it and said that it looked exactly the same as the Italian Arborio rice. A little research indicated that they were both short grain rices and I decided to give it a whirl. It works perfectly so no need to scour the foreign food mart looking for risotto rice the next time you are in the mood for one.

Ingredients

200g of Korean Rice

1-2 liters of stock (chicken or vegetable)

2 beetroot

1 onion

4 cloves of garlic

25g of butter

100g of Freshly shaved parmesan

1 glass of white wine

1 tablespoon  of sour cream (optional)

A small handful of baby spinach (optional)

3-4 walnuts (optional)

Directions

Boil the beetroot in water for about 10 minutes to soften them. Then remove the skins, roughly chop and place in the blender. Heat the stock in a pan so that its gently simmering. Add about a cup to the beetroot and blend until they make a beautiful puree, then set aside. Finely chop the onions and garlic then fry for a few minutes in a little olive oil and butter until softened. Then add the rice and cook for a further few minutes until the rice is translucent. Add the glass of wine and stir occasionally until the liquid has evaporated. Then add 1 ladle-full of stock. When the stock has been absorbed add another ladle-full. You will need to do this for about 15-20 minutes adding one ladle-full at a time and letting it absorb before adding the next. Don’t rush it by adding too much stock. When the rice had become soft or aldente you are almost there. Stir in the beetroot puree then add the butter and half the parmesan and stir. Serve in a bowl and top with the baby spinach, sour cream, walnuts (if using), and top with more Parmesan. Voilà the perfect summertime risotto.