This is one of the best dishes ever. It's so easy and it doubles as a salad for lunch the next day. You can make enough to feed an army or just enough for two and it's just as easy either way.
Roughly speaking budget about a quarter of a cup of quinoa per person. We use red quinoa but a mix of red and black works well for a lighter dish with a bit of bite. If you're looking for a stodgy comfort food number then use white quinoa, it just won't work quite as well as salad the next day but it'll still be yum.
First you're going to find that one dish that your mum gave you that goes both on the stove top and in the oven. If you don't have one don't worry, you can fry the stuff first then chuck it in the oven safe pot.
Roughly speaking budget about a quarter of a cup of quinoa per person. We use red quinoa but a mix of red and black works well for a lighter dish with a bit of bite. If you're looking for a stodgy comfort food number then use white quinoa, it just won't work quite as well as salad the next day but it'll still be yum.
First you're going to find that one dish that your mum gave you that goes both on the stove top and in the oven. If you don't have one don't worry, you can fry the stuff first then chuck it in the oven safe pot.
Preheat your oven to 180degC (the step I ALWAYS forget) and then heat a little oil (yeh, olive oil is apparently better for you, but whatever you've got) in your pan and fry a diced onion. We use red onions because they are pretty and we don't tend to add garlic but really that stuff is up to you. This isn't a dictatorship. When the onion has started to go translucent add in some diced red capsicum (or any colour, in fact a mix of a couple of colours is nice), cubed sweet potato and corn cut from the cob (or from a can - we promise we won't tell anyone). Season with salt and pepper at this point but you'll probably season again once it's all cooked.
Add some ground paprika (smoked if you like), cumin and coriander, about a teaspoon of each if you're serving 2-4 people and a tablespoon of each if we're up to more like 6-10 people. Fry this for a minute and add the quinoa and stir everything through.
Fun quinoa facts.....again - roughly speaking...
- Quinoa expands by about three times when cooked
- A good size serve is approx a quarter of a cup (dry) quinoa per person
- For every one cup of quinoa you'll need a bit less than two cups of water
Once the quinoa, veggies and spices are combined, add enough water to cover, or if you've remembered to measure how much quinoa you've put in you can calculate how much water you should need and then pop it in the oven. It'll take about 30-45mins to cook (less if you're doing a small serve) and if you check it every 10-15 mins you can adjust the water accordingly. We're fairly useless as measurements so usually wing it. When it's starting to taste cooked you'll want it to be drying out a bit so slow down with the water adding once the grains are softening nicely.
Try not to burn your hands on the dish when you get it out of the oven and leave it on the table...and have a quick taste to check seasoning.
It's ace if you add some asparagus or brocollini (whichever is in season) about half way through the cooking process. You can stir in some spinach leaves at the end so they wilt in the dish too, if you're that way inclined, or serve as it. It goes really well with sweet potato wedges or slices, or stands alone as a dish well too.
If you make enough to have leftovers and the children don't eat it all it works really nicely as a salad the next day. Serve with greens stirred through it and dress very lightly. If you need dressing help see Salad Dressings 101.
Add some ground paprika (smoked if you like), cumin and coriander, about a teaspoon of each if you're serving 2-4 people and a tablespoon of each if we're up to more like 6-10 people. Fry this for a minute and add the quinoa and stir everything through.
Fun quinoa facts.....again - roughly speaking...
- Quinoa expands by about three times when cooked
- A good size serve is approx a quarter of a cup (dry) quinoa per person
- For every one cup of quinoa you'll need a bit less than two cups of water
Once the quinoa, veggies and spices are combined, add enough water to cover, or if you've remembered to measure how much quinoa you've put in you can calculate how much water you should need and then pop it in the oven. It'll take about 30-45mins to cook (less if you're doing a small serve) and if you check it every 10-15 mins you can adjust the water accordingly. We're fairly useless as measurements so usually wing it. When it's starting to taste cooked you'll want it to be drying out a bit so slow down with the water adding once the grains are softening nicely.
Try not to burn your hands on the dish when you get it out of the oven and leave it on the table...and have a quick taste to check seasoning.
It's ace if you add some asparagus or brocollini (whichever is in season) about half way through the cooking process. You can stir in some spinach leaves at the end so they wilt in the dish too, if you're that way inclined, or serve as it. It goes really well with sweet potato wedges or slices, or stands alone as a dish well too.
If you make enough to have leftovers and the children don't eat it all it works really nicely as a salad the next day. Serve with greens stirred through it and dress very lightly. If you need dressing help see Salad Dressings 101.