Monday, September 8, 2008

What to do with quinoa


I’ve been watching Paper Chef from afar for quite a long time.
I’ve been wanting to participate for a long time also but I always happen to be out of town, traveling, in a foreign kitchen, etc…So, I was so exited this time to actually be able to participate. That was until I saw the ingredients list.
Quinoa, tomatoes, yogurt and rice paper.
Quinoa is something that I like if somebody else makes it, but I wouldn’t normally cook with it. Love tomatoes and yogurt and I have used several times rice paper for Shrimp Rolls. The combination of all 4 ingredients was definitely a challenge for me.
Ilva, who is our wonderful Paper Chef host, just publish some scrumptious "Polpettine di pollo con rosmarino" and that is where I got my inspiration from.
My dish is a roasted tomatoes soup with mini quinoa croquettes (or polpettine).
The soup has small dollops of Tzatziki and the rice paper was cut into small strips, seasoned and fried for garnish.
I hope you’ll enjoy it; it was fun creating it

Roasted tomatoes soup with quinoa croquettes:

For the soup:

6 ripe tomatoes
5 tablespoons olive oil
1 onions, chopped
4 cups chicken broth
Oregano, to taste
Salt and pepper to taste
Preheat oven to 375. Cut tomatoes in half; fit cut side up on a cookie sheet, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with a touch of kosher salt and pepper. Bake for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile sauté onions in a medium pan. Chop tomatoes and add to the onions, mix well and add the broth; season to taste.

Quinoa croquettes:

1 cups cooked quinoa
½ cup breadcrumbs
½ cup Parmesan cheese
¼ cup parsley
Pepper to taste
Garlic powder to taste
2 eggs

Mix all ingredients in a bowl and roll mini croquettes.
(I got 50)




Tzatziki

1 pint Greek style yogurt
1 English cucumber peeled, grated, salted lightly for 5 minutes and squeezed between the hands to remove juice
3 garlic cloves mashed to a paste
½ cup olive oil
1 Tbs red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon minced fresh dill (optional)
Salt

Just mix everything up together until it is all blended and the oil has emulsified into the yogurt.





Topping:

Rice paper, thinly sliced
Chili powder
Cumin
Garlic salt

Limes wedges.

Soak rice paper until pliable, cut into thin strips, season with chili, cumin and garlic salt and fry in some olive oil.

Sopa de tomates con pequeñas croquetas de quinoa:

Para la sopa:

6 tomates
5 cucharadas de aceite de oliva
1 cebolla picada
4 tasas de caldo de pollo
Sal y pimienta a gusto
Orégano a gusto

Calentar el horno a 375. Cortar los tomates por la mitad y poner en una fuente de horno, rociar con aceite de oliva sal y pimienta. Cocinar por 30 minutos.
Mientras tanto saltar la cebolla en aceite de oliva. Picar los tomates ya cocidos y agregar a la cebolla; mezclar bien, agregar caldo y condimentar con sal, pimienta y orégano.

Mini croquetas de quinoa:

1 tasa de quinoa cocida
½ tasa de pan rallado
½ tasa de queso rallado
¼ perejil picado
Pimienta a gusto
Ajo en polvo a gusto
2 huevos

Tzatziki:

2 tasas de yogurt griego
1 pepino, pelado y rallado y exprimido con las manos para sacar toda el agua
3 dientes de ajo, pisados
½ tasa de aceite de oliva
1 cucharada de vinagre de vino
1 cucharada de eneldo picado (optativo)
Sal

Decoración:

Papel de arroz, cortado en tiritas
Chili
Comino
Sal de ajo

Poner papel de arroz en remojo, cuando se ablande un poco cortar en tiritas y secar.
Condimentar con chili, comino y sal de ajo. Freír rápidamente en un poco de aceite de oliva.

Limas



15 comments:

Anonymous said...

All this looks delicious! I still haven't had a chance to try quinoa, yet. I'm adding your recipe to my list. ;-) Thanks for stopping by my blog.

Paz

Amber said...

Saw you on Paper Chef and I am definitely voting for you! My husband and I are sitting here drooling over your creation.

NKP said...

Very creative use of the ingredients. I didn't realize that you could make croquettes out of quinoa. Do you fry them before putting them into the soup?

MyKitchenInHalfCups said...

Stunning: Quinoa croquettes!
And using the rice wrapper for garnish . . . I'm in awe!
Excellent.

Anonymous said...

Hi Paz, I love your blog and I hope your recovery from surgery is going well.

Natashya, I did fry tem before I put them into the soup. They are a great appetizer all by themselves.

Hi MyKitcheninHalfcups, thanks, I had to camouflage the quinoa because “I don’t love it”. I do love the croquettes though.

Anonymous said...

I love what you did with the rice paper. It's a very interesting way to use this and I think I will try it one day. :)

FOODalogue said...

Came across you in today's foodie blogroll and wanted to say that I don't know when this contest ends, but I think your recipe is creative and looks/sounds delicious. To me, it's a winner! Congrats.

Mikey said...

I love your use of the rice paper!

Champsleeve said...

You won our vote! We both thought your idea was the most imaginative. I looked at these ingredients forever never even considered tomato soup. Great job!

-Dana and Kay

Anonymous said...

Quinoa croquettes - what a great idea!

Anonymous said...

Que rico! What a great idea--I'm making this tonight!

Ilva said...

Congratulations Pia! Well done! Will mail you later on!

Anonymous said...

Wow, this looks wonderful and since I don't eat gluten, I use quinoa grain and flour all the time and always have some on hand. And I even have some gluten free bread in the freezer, so this will be easy to make gluten-free. Sometimes it's difficult to convert recipes that contain wheat flour, but this one will be easy. Plus, quinoa is a high-quality protein. Very healthy! Thanks for sharing this recipe!
Melissa

Anonymous said...

Murasaki Shikibu, Thank you

Foodalogue, Thank you. Love your veggie pasta month.

Champsleeve, Thank you (read double smile on my face)

Tricia, Thanks. They are great as an appetizer.

Rebecca, Gracias! Enjoy
Glutenfree for good, It should be easy to convert, just use gluten free breadcrumbs. I’m so glad you like the recipe.

Anonymous said...

What a unique recipe! It looks hearty and delicious.