SWEET BROCCOLI SALAD with QUINOA & EDAMAME

This recipe is straight from the Arthur Street Kitchen cookbook ‘Community’ and is the tastiest way I have ever eaten quinoa! Initially I did not fancy quinoa much, so I have tried my hand with this grain in various ways, so trust me when I say that I have eaten it a lot. The sweet sauce is a revelation and whilst the ingredients may sound strange together, they work beautifully to create a slightly sweet, faintly sour and a somewhat nutty dressing. I have kept the recipe very similar to the original, just omitting all the oil and nigella seeds (as they are difficult to source). Black sesame seeds are delicious and can be found in all health food stores. Mirin is a sweet rice wine, similar to sake but with a lower alcohol content and a slightly sugary taste. Mirin seasoning is much more accessible, hence why I used it and is available from all major supermarkets. If you cannot find it, you can substitute it with rice wine vinegar. The edamame quality may look odd (227g), but it is exactly half of a standard packet of edamame that you can buy from all major supermakets (454g) in the frozen food aisle. This unique salad is great as a filling lunch and is impressive enough to be served as a vegetable dish at a dinner party. I myself ate it for dinner last night with a boiled egg on top.

P.S- Probably a good idea to explain what edamame is as well! Edamame is a type of bean commonly found in Taiwanese  Chines, Japanese, Indonesian and Hawaiian cuisine. It is a green soybean that are boiled or steamed and served with salt. They have recently found increasing popularity as a healthy food item, due to it's high iron (for a plant food), it's protein content and its substantial levels of vitamin C & A. 

Ingredients

•   1 cup quinoa (170-200g) 

•   1g (a pinch) of stevia

•   2 heads of broccoli (around 1kg), cut into similar-sized florets, with the stalks cut into small pieces

•   227g frozen edamame beans, thawed & podded

•   2 heaped tablespoons white sesame seeds

•   2 heaped tablespoons black sesame seeds

•   a handful of fresh coriander leaves, washed 

Sweet sauce

•   3 tablespoons tahini

•   1 medium garlic clove, crushed or finely chopped

•   1 teaspoon soy sauce

•   a pinch of sea salt

•   1 heaped tablespoon honey

•   1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

•   2 tablespoons mirin seasoning 

Cooking 

1. Rinse the quinoa well with cold water. Bring a medium saucepan of lightly salted water to the boil with the quinoa. Once boiled, reduce the heat to a simmer and simmer for 8-10 minutes or until the quinoa has absorbed all the water. Turn off the heat and leave the quinoa in the pot for 8 minutes, covered. After this time remove the lid and fluff the quinoa with a fork. 

2. Meanwhile, bring another medium / large saucepan of water to the boil, adding a pinch of sea salt and the stevia to the water. When boiled add the broccoli and cook for 3 minutes or until just tender. Add the podded edamame beans to the boiling water and cook for 1 minute, then remove the vegetables from the heat and drain in a large colander under cold water. 

3. Make the sweet sauce by whisking all the sauce ingredients together as well as a few tablespoons of water. You want the consistency of the sauce to be quite runny and easy to pour onto the salad, so carefully add more water as you see fit. The sauce should taste slightly sweet from the honey, slightly sour from the vinegar and a tad nutty in flavour from the tahini. 

4. Place the quinoa on a large serving plate or in a large bowl. Add the broccoli edamame mixture and 1/2 of the sesame seeds and toss well to combine. Sprinkle the remaining sesame seeds and coriander leaves over the salad and pour the sauce on top. Enjoy! 

Serves / 4 - 6

Total Preparation time / 15 minutes 

Total Cooking time / 30 minutes maximum 

x Emily 

QUINOA PATTIES

One of my best friends, Rosie, introduced me to Heidi Swanson’s first cookbook,‘Super Natural Cooking’, late last year. As I do with every cookbook I purchase or are given, I skim it, looking only at the pictures and then put it away with my other 79 cookbooks. Recently I have been missing Rosie terribly (she is living in New York City being amazing) so I do what I do whenever I feel a little low- go to a bookstore. And what did I see on the first shelf I looked at but Heidi Swanson’s 2^nd cookbook, ‘Super Natural Every Day’. I purchased it without even looking inside and was hidden behind it all weekend. Both her cookbooks are unique, as Heidi takes a whole foods and natural cooking approach that would make a dietitian question how healthy he/she is. Heidi introduces her readers to a non-processed, completely natural and earthy method of cooking that teaches you how to expand your pantry and create masterpieces in a common kitchen. I cannot get enough of her cookbooks, as each recipe is innovative, colourful, nutritious and vegetarian. I could browse the photographs in Swanson’s cookbook (taken by herself) for hours at a time, as a reader you feel transported to another world, to a more natural, unrefined and organic earth. 

Below is one of Heidi's scrumptious recipes, using the grain of the moment, quinoa. 

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups cooked white grain quinoa (see step 1 for how to cook). 
• 4 eggs, preferably free range, beaten 
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/3 cup (15g) fresh chives, finely chopped
• 1 medium brown onion (80-100g), finely chopped
• 2-3 large garlic cloves, finely diced
• 1/4 reduced-fat cheese (I used a combination of Parmesan & Cheddar cheese but Gruyere would also work)
• 1 cup bread crumbs, either whole grain or gluten-free (I used 2 slices of gluten-free bread, processed in a blender/food processor for 10 seconds and voila, 1 cup of breadcrumbs). 
• 1 tablespoon olive oil 
• Optional- serve with a salad or use lettuce to garnish 

COOKING 

1. How to cook quinoa: Make sure that it has been thoroughly rinsed first. A sieve is best to use, as quinoa grains will just fall through a colander. Place the rinsed 2 cups of quinoa in a medium saucepan with 3 cups of water and 1/2 teaspoon sea salt. Bring to the boil and then simmer, covering the saucepan, for around 20-25 minutes or until the quinoa is tender to taste and you are able to see the little quinoa curlicues- the little white curls in the individual grains. I know that this sounds unbelievable, but trust me, you will be able to see them. 

2. Once the quinoa is cooked, place it in a large bowl and add the beaten eggs and a pinch of salt. Mix in the chives, onion, cheese and garlic, stirring well to combine. Stir the breadcrumbs in with the mixture, then leave the mixture for a few minutes so the crumbs can absorb some of the moisture. After letting it sit, you should be left with a mixture you can quite easily make into patties. If you feel that the mixture is too moist, add some breadcrumbs, or if you feel it is too dry, add some water or beaten egg. Remember that you do not want the mixture to be dry as it will be very hard to form your thick patties. 

3. Shape 12 2.5cm thick patties. Heat half the olive oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Try to place 6 patties in the pan, but make sure that there is room between each one or you will make your life much harder when it comes to flipping them. Leave the patties to brown for 7 to 10 minutes, and only flip them over when they are very brown on one side. Turn up the heat if the patties are not browning after 10 minutes. Flip the patties over and repeat on the other side until golden brown (see picture). Remove from the heat and repeat with the next 12 patties. Serve with a salad or alone, as they are quite filling. 

Serves / 4

Makes / 12 2.5cm patties

**You can find Heidi Swanson's cookbooks at independent bookstores such as Riverbend Bookstore at 193 Oxford St, Hawthorne, Brisbane**

x E

QUINOA SALAD

My very first time making quinoa took place this weekend. Being a ‘superfood’ and the grain with the highest amount of protein in it, quinoa has been getting a lot of press recently. My father, a bit of a self-confessed health nut, mentioned this grain to me several months ago, however I did not give it much thought until I started the 12 Week Challenge and noticed that every 3^rd recipe seemed to contain this mysterious grain. Super super easy to cook, double the amount of water to ratio of quinoa is added is cooked much like rice. Make sure that you add a pinch of sea salt to the quinoa and water before it boils to bring out the flavour. Quinoa can be a little bland on its own, therefore it is best served with a dressing, sauce or spice. Quinoa is interesting in appearance and texture, as it looks like couscous but its texture is slightly rougher. The benefits of quinoa are extensive and after researching and cooking just one meal with quinoa, I strongly believe that this grain should be an addition to everyone’s pantry. Have a read of this useful link to find out more about this superfood: http://thestonesoup.com/blog/2010/06/12-things-you-should-know-about-quinoa/

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup quinoa (200g)
• 2 cups water (500ml)
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt 
• 1 large lebanese cucumber, diced
• 2 tablespoons fresh chives
• 200g cherry tomatoes, halved
• 2 handful of any lettuce, washed & drained (I used butter lettuce)

Dressing- Vinaigrette 

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons water (possibly more depending on the consistency)
• 3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon dijion mustard
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley

COOKING 

1. Place the quinoa, sea salt and water in a medium saucepan on high heat and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 10-12 minutes or until the quinoa is soft and tender and no water remains. Remove from the heat and cool. 

2. Meanwhile, make the vinaigrette by combining all of the ingredients in a screw-top jar with a lid and shaking until combined. (If the dressing is a little thick, add some more water). 

3. Place the cooked quinoa, the lettuce, cucumber, chives and tomatoes in a large serving bowl. Drizzle the vinaigrette  over the top and toss well to combine. 

Serves / 4 

x E