Okay, Mr. Ottolenghi, lets see how you did…
…for the 4th Annual Volk/Watson Extravaganza I cherry-picked from Yotam Ottolenghi’s gourmet vegetable cookbook, “Plenty”. I kind of cheated because I did choose some recipes I’d already tested and knew to be wonderful (the roasted pumpkin slices with lemon zest, garlic, and parsley, for example). But I spent a lot of time looking through recipes trying to figure out how well they’d work in advance. Sometimes it’s hard to tell (barley and pomegranate salad = fail), but sometimes there’s just about no way it could be bad if you don’t skip ingredients or burn things – two things I’m prone to do, I admit.
Unfortunately I’d had two bad grain-based salad experiences (the above barley-pomegranate and another for “kisir“) from the book and only one good one (cardamom rice with poached egg, which was basically just a fragrant, Indian-spiced rice that’s only good if you use the whole spices called for and grind them yourself. Though the poached egg makes the whole thing pretty luxurious as the egg yolk breaks all over the seductively colourful rice). But I figured that between the roasted sweet potatoes in the quinoa salad and the lime rind I’d use to replace the dried Persian lime called for (try finding that in Newfoundland…) there’d be enough flavour to mask the blandness of quinoa. I even planned to skip the feta, and that’s awfully risky taste-wise. Call my a risk-taker…a 90-year old in a 25-year old’s body kind of risk-taker. Essentially, the cool kind of 90-year old. Right?
And I’ll let you in on a secret…when you’re making a big batch of this for a party it’s okay to add a little extra salt. Tons of bad cooks do it all the time, and I don’t profess to be more than a bad cook.
So I crossed my fingers and took a chance, knowing that at least the salad would be gorgeous, what with the orange of the sweet potato and green of the spring onions, mint, and parsley. What I didn’t expect was that it would be so completely delicious. And addictive. And I want to eat it everyday. Probably for the rest of my life. At least until I get sick of grating lime rind.
Buy this book. Maybe you’ll even like the barley-pomegranate salad.
But you’ll definitely like this salad adapted from the book:
Quinoa Salad with Lime and Roasted Sweet Potatoes
2 medium sweet potatoes, diced into 1-inch cubes (or 3 or 4…you don’t have to use them all in this salad, but they’re my favourite part)
6 tbsp olive oil, divided (yes, I even used it all and it somehow didn’t end up on my thighs. Must have been the magical power of the quinoa and sweet potatoes – they’re called superfoods for a reason)
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 cup mixed wild and basmati rice (or long grain and wild. The wild just adds another colour to the dish so it’s more important. Long grain will just require more water. Follow the package instructions)
1 cup quinoa (I assume the white kind, but you could use black or red. They never seem to get as fluffy as the white kind when I use them though)
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 tbsp thinly sliced fresh tarragon (or parsley if you don’t have tarragon or prefer a more neutral flavour)
3 tbsp fresh oregano (or 1 1/2 tbsp dried)
2 tbsp grated lime rind (from about 2 limes – having a bit extra is good so you can adjust to taste before serving the dish. I like it with more lime because it actually tastes like something, as opposed to tasting like quinoa, aka nothing)
6 tbsp thinly sliced fresh mint
4 green onions, thinly sliced (green and white parts), reserving some of the green parts for garnish
2 tsp lemon juice (the original recipe calls for 1 tsp but that’s ridiculous. How are you going to taste 1 tsp of lemon juice in this huge salad? Especially if you leave out the 6 oz. of crumbled feta cheese?)
Instructions:
Roast the diced sweet potatoes by tossing them with 3 tbsp of the olive oil, and the salt and pepper, then spreading them in a single layer on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and roasting them in an oven preheated to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Check. Resist the urge to eat them 20-25 minutes later when they’re tender. Okay, maybe eat a few pieces. But willpower! Come on!
Cook the rices as indicated on their packages or single package if it’s a combined bag or box (or if you buy in bulk like a good little eco-minded cook, check in with the internet on cooking times and water quantities, as it varies according to type of rice. Bring 2 cups of water to a boil in a medium pot and add the quinoa. Reduce the heat to a simmer and let cook for 9 minutes (covered or uncovered – it doesn’t matter, but you save energy by covering it) and then drain it in a sieve. If you don’t have a sieve you’re going to have to be more careful with how much water you add, so once again, check the box label or ye olde internet.
Let both the rices and the quinoa cool and dry out before placing them in a very large bowl. You don’t want them soggy or your dressing will be diluted.
Now you get to shallow-fry herbs! Hurray! Add the remaining 3 tbsp olive oil in a small frying pan over medium heat. When hot add the garlic and stir for 30 seconds or until it starts to brown. Then add the tarragon (or parsley) and oregano and stir for another minute. If they start to burn take them off the heat. After 1 minute pour the entire contents of the frying pan – oil and all – over the quinoa and rice in the big bowl.
Now everything else goes in except the leftover green onions you set aside for a garnish, and toss in some extra salt and pepper to taste. No, I mean it. Taste it now!!! Add more lime zest or salt or more parsley or green onions or lemon juice. If you didn’t over-roast the sweet potato cubes they won’t turn to mush…and if you did, well, they’ll taste delicious. A+. This salad will last you for a whole lot of lunches if it’s just for you (which I encourage) and will go fast if it’s for a potluck or a side dish. Take that, Atlantic salmon. You can stay off my plate, thanks. Too bad the Globe & Mail insists quinoa is a poor source of protein.
Fortunately, others disagree.
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