Monday, October 22, 2012

Quinoa Cake Recipes


-2 ½ cups of quinoa
-4 eggs, beaten 
-1 cup of garlic and herb bread crumbs Healthier Choice: use whole grain 
-1 green onion 
-1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
-1/2 onion, thinly sliced
-2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. 
Mix all of the ingredients together.  Form the mixture into patties. Allow them to sit in the fridge for about fifteen minutes. 
Pour olive oil into a frying pan and heat over medium-high flame. Cook patties on each side for about 2 minutes. Transfer on to a baking sheet. Bake for 10-15 minutes. 

Recipe 2:

-2 ½ cups cooked quinoa
-4 large eggs
-1/3 cup chopped chives
-1 cup spinach 
-3 tablespoons ricotta cheese
-1/2 teaspoon cumin
-1/2 teaspoon paprika
-1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
-1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
-1/2 teaspoon salt
-1 cup garbanzo bean powder (gluten free) or use bread crumbs if you do not need gluten free
2 tablespoons oil 

Combine the quinoa, eggs in a medium bowl. Add cumin, paprika, garlic powder, lemon zest and salt. 
Add spinach, chives and cheese.
Stir in breadcrumbs/ powder and allow it to sit in the fridge for about 15 minutes. Form into 10-12 patties. 
Heat oil in a skillet. Add patties and cook on each side until they’re golden-brown in color.

I like to serve these with a poached egg, avocado and over greens. 

Curried Chicken with Poached Garlic Puree



Poached Garlic:

-4 heads of garlic
-1 ½ cup canola oil
-1/2 cup olive oil

Boil about 4 cups of water. Take the water off the heat and add garlic. Stir. Let the garlic sit for about 50 minutes. Once water is cool enough to handle, strain the garlic and remove skin. 

Add garlic and oil in a pot. Bring to a simmer over medium-low heat. Once it is simmering, reduce heat to low for a gentle simmer. Cook for 40-50 minutes or until garlic is soft.

-Poached garlic
-2 cups of cilantro
-3 tablespoons olive oil- use the oil from the garlic poaching
-1 tablespoon masala curry 
-1 tablespoon Greek yogurt  
-1 cup chicken stalk 
-2 lbs. chicken, I like to use thighs but breasts are healthier
-1/2 onion, chopped
-2 sweet potatoes, cut into small chunks
-1/2 cup pine nuts
-1/2 cup raisins 

Add garlic, cilantro, 1 tablespoon of olive oil, curry and greek yogurt into a food processor. You may need to add some water in order to blend. Blend until smooth. 
Heat remaining olive oil in a pot over medium-high flame. Add chicken. Cook for about a minute on each side. You are simply creating a crust on the chicken. Add onion and potato and cook for another 5-8 minutes.  Add sauce and chicken stalk. Cover and cook for about 45 minutes on low heat. Remove lid. Add pine nuts and raisins. Stir and remove from heat. 


You can serve this on top of rice or quinoa. I decided to make quinoa cakes and pour the chicken on top. I’m having some old friends over so, honestly, im just showing off. I am going to post two versions of quinoa cakes below. I used the first one for this recipe because it is more basic. The second recipe is more complex and is great as a dish in itself. I recommend serving it over some greens and with an egg. 

Thursday, October 18, 2012

A twist on the classic Spanish Tortilla



Anyone who has been to Spain will appreciate this twist on a classic dish, or rather the combination of two traditional Spanish dishes. You cannot go to Spain without trying Spanish tortilla and patatas bravas. The Spanish love their potatoes almost as much as they love their jamon (cured ham) and I have got to admit, they do a damn good job of preparing them. 

Patatas bravas are fried chunks of potatoes dressed, typically, in one of two sauces. The white sauce is an aioli and the red is a sort-of spicy tomato sauce, which is generally not spicy at all. I love this patatas bravas tomato sauce and decided why not drizzle it on top of another form of spanish potatoes, the tortilla. 

Now this tortilla recipe is far from the conventional Spanish tortilla. I wanted to change it up a bit to add flavor and color and, of course, make it healthier. Instead of using only potatoes, I use half potatoes and half zucchini. I figured the zucchini would not only add a unique flavor, but this vegetable excretes juices when cooked. This would add moisture to the tortilla, which, if not cooked properly like a true Spaniard, can end up being very dry. Not to mention Zucchini is a nutritious vegetable, much more so than its potato counterpart. So why not add a little green to a Spanish favorite. God knows Spaniards need to add a bit more greens to their (mouthwatering) meat and starch cuisine. 

Note: while cooking this tortilla I was busy trying to edit the recipe I had written, thus I sacrificed our meal by burning the tortilla. If your tortilla looks like this, it is a little over cooked. Like our parents' infamous line, "do what I say, not what I do." 

Makes 1 tortilla 

-4 eggs 
-1/2 medium sized Vidalia onion, quartered and thinly sliced 
-1 large Yukon Gold potato, thinly sliced 
-1 zucchini, thinly sliced  
-2 tablespoons of chicken broth 
-4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil

Heat oil over medium flame in a medium sized skillet. Add the onion and cook until translucent but not yet browned, about 3 to 5 minutes. Add potato and cook for an additional 5 minutes. Stir gently. Stir in zucchini and cook for 5-8 minutes or until potato and zucchini are soft. Transfer mixture into a bowl and allow it to cool.

In a separate bowl, beat eggs. Add chicken stock and whisk together. Pour mixture into the bowl with the potatoes. Mix gently until everything is well combined. 

In the same skillet add an additional 2 tablespoons of olive oil and heat at medium for a minute. Pour the mixture into the skillet and flatten the potatoes until the top is even. Reduce heat to medium-low. Cook for about 7-8 minutes. Shake the skillet and run the spatula around the edges so that the uncooked egg can slide to the sides to cook. The tortilla is ready to flip when the top is wet but not liquid. 

To flip the tortilla, place a large plate on the top of the skillet (the plate should be slightly larger than the skillet). Place one hand under the plate and the other on the handle of the skillet to flip it over. Be careful, the skillet is hot and will be heavy. Make sure you have a tight grip on the skillet and the hand holding the plate. You may want to do this over the sink in the case that some of the uncooked egg leaks. When the tortilla is on the plate, carefully slide it back onto the skillet to cook the other side. Shake skillet to straighten out the tortilla. Reduce heat to low and cook for about 3 minutes. 

Flip the tortilla onto the serving plate. Cut into slices and serve with some of the tomato sauce drizzled on top.


Tomato Sauce 

-1/2 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil
-1/2 onion, roughly chopped 
-1 medium garlic clove, roughly chopped 
-1/2 tablespoon of granulated sugar
-15 oz can of diced tomatoes 
-1 tablespoon of white vinegar 
-1 teaspoon of smoked paprika 
-2 teaspoons of cayenne pepper (alter amount depending on desired heat)
-2 tablespoons of mayonnaise Healthier Choice: use Greek yogurt 

Heat olive oil in a pan over medium-high heat. Add onion. Cook for about 3 minutes and add garlic. Cook for another 5 minutes until onion is transparent and garlic is golden. Add can of tomatoes, sugar and vinegar. Cook for about 15-20 minutes. 

Carefully pour mixture into blender and blend until smooth. Transfer tomato mixture into a bowl. Add cayenne pepper, paprika and mayonnaise. Mix thoroughly. Add salt to taste. 


Healthier Choices:
Use egg whites. You will need about 6 egg whites 
Use ½ the potato and 2 zucchinis 

You can make several variations of tortilla. Like the hummus, once you get the idea you can get creative. Here are several other variations of tortilla. 

-Traditional Spanish tortilla: Just potatoes. Follow the recipe but add more potato in place of the zucchini
-Zucchini and squash tortilla
-Add bell peppers to the traditional tortilla 
-Potato and artichoke tortilla
-Sweet potato and Yukon Gold potato tortilla 


When I made the tortilla, I made ceviche to go on the side. I will post this recipe this weekend.

Monday, October 8, 2012

Chicken and Rice



Serves 6

-1 whole chicken
-2 onions, cut in half
-3 garlic cloves
-1 teaspoon oregano
-1 bay leaf
-1 teaspoon of better than bullion
-1 48-ounce carton chicken broth
-1 package of smoked polish sausage, sliced into ½ inch pieces
-3 cups white rice
-1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
-1/2 teaspoon cumin







In a large pot add whole chicken, onions, garlic, oregano, bay leaf, chicken broth, 1/3 sausage and enough water to cover the chicken. Boil for 40 minutes then turn to medium heat for ten more minutes. Pull out the chicken and onion carefully.
Allow the chicken and onion to cool.
Cut up the chicken. Discard the bones and transfer meat into a bowl.
Take the onions and any of the garlic that is left and transfer them into a food processor. Blend until you form a mush.
Meanwhile boil 3 large tomatoes for 8 minutes. Remove from boiling water and carefully transfer them into a bowl of ice water. Remove skin and seeds.
In a pot add onion mush tomatoes, sausage, garlic powder, and cumin.  Let cook under medium-high heat for 15-20 minutes of until sausage starts browning and onions cook down. Add rice. Stir for 10 minutes. Add 6 cups of chicken broth (that you have been boiling). Let it boil then cover. Cook for about 25-30 minutes. When you lift the top the liquid should be evaporated. If so, take off the heat and recover for 20 minutes.
Taste and add salt if needed. Fluff and add chicken. Stir and serve.