Quinoa & Passover

I've cooked with quinoa (pronouced keen-wah) once before and I didn't have great success. Firstly, you have to rinse it (unless it is pre-rinsed) and that was an epic fail for me... more ended up in drain than anywhere else and it wasn't substantial enough for the dish. I had been hearing the buzz that quinoa was a great find during Passover and was really excited to try a new dish for our seder (or non-seder, as we just gathered together the night before- no actual seder took place but there was matzoh ball soup!).

A friend pointed out a recipe for quinoa salad-- and I can't turn down anything with asparagus! This recipe turned out pretty well. I think most of my family enjoyed it and it was a nice, light dish with great flavor. I used a bit more asparagus than the recipe called for. I wasn't a huge fan of the oranges, probably because I'm really picky about oranges... what other fruit do you think you could substitute for oranges? I'd love to hear what you think.


Quinoa Salad with Asparagus, Dates & Oranges
Cooking Light

Salad:
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/2 cup finely chopped white onion
1 cup uncooked quinoa
2 cups water chicken broth (low-sodium)
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt (if you use chicken broth, you may want to skip this)
1 cup fresh orange sections (about 1 large orange)
1/4 cup chopped pecans, toasted (or more if you want!)
2 tablespoons minced red onion
5 dates, pitted and chopped
1/2 pound (2-inch) slices asparagus, steamed and chilled (I used a few extra stalks)
1/2 jalapeño pepper, diced

Dressing:
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon extravirgin olive oil
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 garlic clove, minced
2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
Mint sprigs (optional)

Preparation
1. To prepare salad, heat 1 teaspoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add white onion to pan; sauté 2 minutes. Add quinoa to pan; sauté 5 minutes. Add 2 cups chicken broth and 1/2 teaspoon salt to pan; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes. Remove from heat; let stand 15 minutes or until water is absorbed. Transfer quinoa mixture to a large bowl. Add orange and next 5 ingredients (through jalapeño); toss gently to combine.

2. To prepare dressing, combine juice and next 4 ingredients (through garlic) in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk. Pour dressing over salad; toss gently to coat. Sprinkle with chopped mint. Garnish with mint sprigs, if desired. Serve at room temperature.

The most non-photogenic meal ever.

I've been busy this week! Monday evening was spent at the vet and then baking cookies to thank the clinic. Tuesday, I baked a Tollhouse Cookie Pie and a coffee cake for our friends and their family. The cookie pie recipe is on the fritz and I need to play with it to get it to work right. I ended up keeping that one because it didn't pass inspection. I didn't take any pictures so I'll make the coffee cake again soon and  post about it- it sure is yummy!

I spotted two recipes recently that enticed me and I wanted to try them out. Danimal looooooves artichokes so I knew I needed to test out Artichoke Chicken. The other, couscous with butternut squash & cranberry salad sounded like something I'd enjoy. All in all it was a decent dinner but I wasn't thrilled with the results.

Artichoke Chicken
Adapted from allrecipes.com

1 (15 oz) can of artichokes, drained & chopped
3/4 cup 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
3/4 cup 1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 pinch garlic powder  3 garlic cloves, chopped
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (my package had 3)
1/2 cup mushrooms, sliced


Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).

In a medium bowl, mix together the artichoke hearts, Parmesan cheese, mayonnaise, garlic, and mushrooms. Place chicken in a greased baking dish, and cover evenly with artichoke mixture.

Bake, uncovered, for 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until chicken is no longer pink in the center and juices run clear.
 
 This recipe was just ok. I'm not a fan of creamy chicken dishes but I wanted to see how it could work. The chicken was moist and had a decent flavor but nothing great. Danimal rated it a 6 out of 10. I probably wouldn't make this again.
 

 
 
Quinoa Salad with Butternut Squash and Cranberries

adapted from Erin's Food Files (http://erinsfoodfiles.blogspot.com/2009/10/cous-cous-salad-with-butternut-squash.html ) which was adapted from TheKitchn
Makes about 5 servings

1 medium butternut squash (or other hard winter squash), peeled* and cut into 1-inch chunks
3/4 cup uncooked cous cous  1 cup quinoa, rinsed
1 cup water  2 cups water
1 onion, diced
4-5 tablespoons white wine vinegar
2 tablespoons olive oil
Zest of one orange
1/2 teaspoon coriander
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon cumin
1-3 teaspoons salt--to taste
1 can garbanzo beans--rinsed & drained
1/2 cup dried cranberries

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees F. Toss squash with a bit of olive oil and spread on a baking sheet. Roast squash, stirring occasionally, until tender - -about 30 minutes. Allow to cool before combining with other ingredients.

Cook quinoa as directed (my bag said add quinoa & water in saucepan, bring to a boil. Cover & simmer for 10-15 minutes). Fluff with a fork and set aside.

Saute onion in a skillet over medium-high heat until translucent. Set aside and allow to cool.

In a small bowl, whisk together vinegar, olive oil, zest, spices, and 1 teaspoon of salt. In a large bowl, combine squash, quinoa, onions, garbanzo beans, and cranberries. Pour on the vinegar-oil dressing and stir to combine. Taste to check seasoning and add salt if needed. This salad can be served room temperature or cold.

I had never had quinoa before tonight and wanted to see how it would work with this recipe. I liked it but I think this recipe would be better and more substantial with couscous (as it originally called for)... next time I'm going to try it with Israeli couscous if I can find it at the store. Danimal wasn't a fan but he doesn't like butternut squash or dried cranberries.