Posted by kathryn in Vegetables, Dinners and Desserts

Not quite back into my blogging routine – which means I didn’t get the chance to post the normal Quicklinks yesterday – so here they are on Saturday.

Because of the delay I’ve made it a bumper edition.

• Salad Bar: Sue from Noodlebowl comes up with such simple and useful suggestions. The salad equation (in the comments); her ideas on keeping portions under control. And then late last year I spotted her genius suggestion to organise a home salad bar.
• New ways with beetroot: Long term readers will know I’m a sucker for anything beetroot. So I have to thank Christie for alerting me to Nigel Slater’s beetroot soup with goat’s curd and gherkins. Then Elaine let me know about the sauteed beetroot with almonds and parsley recipe from Flavour of the Week (Jan 14th edition). Thanks to you both.
• Detoxing: I’m not a proponent of detoxes, however Tim Hayward at The Guardian believes “they serve a fantastically important moral, emotional and metaphysical purpose.” To see if you agree, read his piece here.
• Eggplant with chilli: I also have to thank Elaine for leading me to Kelly Rossiter’s recipes on Treehugger and Planet Green including eggplant with chilli & balsamic. I cooked this last week – it’s easy and so, so good.
• Walnut-miso sauce: Look at this dressing from Mark Bittman. It’s a walnut, miso, soy and ginger sauce he tosses through green beans. What a flavour-packed combination.
• Lemongrass & cabbage soup: Cabbage has a tasteless, fusty image with many people, however Wendy from A Wee Bit of Cooking has made an interesting and sparky looking soup. It includes lemongrass, ginger, lots of coriander and coconut milk.
• Coffee soaked dates: A lovely dessert / after dinner treat idea from Cindy at Where’s the Beef dates soaked in cardamon infused coffee. Serve by themselves or with a bit of natural yoghurt.
• Does porridge fill you up? Sophie from Mostly Eating has been doing a sterling job in the last couple of weeks, talking about porridge. First of all she posted an amazing quinoa porridge with clementines, sour cherries and pecans. Then she followed up with an explanation of why porridge fills some people up, but not others.
• Green Resolutions: It’s off the healthy food topic, but I wanted to let you know about Planet Ark’s Green Resolutions initiative. Sign up and each week they’ll send you a practical resolution or tip on how to live a cleaner, greener lifestyle.

Baked quinoa with greens and fetta

Another of Kelly Rossiter’s recipes is this gorgeous baked quinoa dish. I made it earlier in the week and boy, oh boy is it good. Highly satisfying and full of flavour.

As per usual I made a few tweaks, so I thought I’d post my version here. No photo – because it looked almost exactly the same as Kelly’s, which is on the site.

When cooking with spinach I usually try to use a mixture of greens. It’s a trick I learnt from Jamie Oliver. Being big on variety it appeals to me. But I also love the slight combination of flavours and textures you get from it. This time I used silverbeet and en choy but it could just as easily be spinach, beetroot or radish greens, kale or even herbs.

Serves 4

1/2 bunch silverbeet, washed and shaken dry
1/2 bunch en choy, washed and shaken dry
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, crushed and roughly chopped
1 carrot, grated
2 teaspoons dried oregano
3 cups cooked quinoa, made from 1 cup uncooked)
2 eggs
100g fetta cheese, crumbled
40g tasty/cheddar cheese, grated

Preheat the oven to 200°C. Oil a medium gratin or baking dish.

Heat a wide saucepan over a medium-high heat. Add the damp greens to the pan and cook them quickly, in the liquid left on the leaves. You may have to do this in two batches. Toss them around with a spoon, while they’re cooking – this will ensure they cook evenly and don’t stick. As soon as the greens wilt, remove from the pan and place in a colander, to drain. Once drained, roughly chop.

Wipe the pan dry and place back on the medium heat. Add the olive oil and onion. Saute until the onion is cooked through, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, carrot, spinach and oregano and continue cooking for about 2 more minutes, stirring as you go. By this stage all the vegetables should be lovely and soft, although not in any way over cooked and soggy.

Beat the eggs in a large bowl. Stir in the cooked quinoa, onion and spinach mixture and the cheeses. Season with pepper (you won’t need salt because of the fetta) and empty into the baking dish. Place in the oven and bake until nicely browned on top. This takes about 20 – 25 minutes. Remove from the heat, allow to sit for about 5 minutes, and serve.

Lemongrass photograph by Alexander Yee and spinach by Creativity + Timothy K.

17 January, 2009