Black Quinoa with Grilled Vegetables

Tuesday, 16 August 2011

Black Quinoa with Grilled Vegetables

This is the second recipe featured in BSC's reTALE magazine. I was told this Ceres Organics Black Quinoa (pronounced as "keen-wah") which was new in O Gourmet then would be a good option to try on for a recipe. They would love to have these healthy grains to be introduced as many Malaysians may not know what to do with them.

I've taken the white ones in salads and was quite excited to try the black ones out. These highly nutritious grains are light and nutty in flavour, works well in salads and soups. I've read in one of Martha Stewarts magazines that it could be used in replace of breakfast cereals by just cooking the black quinoa, drain and then let it cool. Pour milk over them together with fresh fruits and nuts!

For this recipe, I've actually tested with vegetables roasted in the oven but theyvegetables turned a bit mushy and doesn't look quite appealing. In the end, I grilled the vegetables on a grill pan and they vegetables looked and tasted far better :D

Since I've used some nuts and seeds, I decided to drizzle some extra Vom Fass pumpkin seed oil to enhance the already nutty flavour and some sweetish sour balsamic vinegar to balance things up.

Black Quinoa with Grilled Vegetables
Serves 4 as side dish

1 cup Ceres Organics Black Quinoa
100g asparagus, remove the woody ends
100g eggplant, sliced lengthwise about 0.5cm thick
100g cherry tomatoes, halved
50g red capsicum, remove the core and sliced into quarters lengthwise
50g yellow capsicum, remove the core and sliced into quarters lengthwise
1 tbsp Vom Fass Madonia - Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt and grounded black pepper to taste
1 tbsp pumpkin seeds
1 tbsp hazelnuts, roasted and crushed

Dressing:
2-3 tbsp Vom Fass Basil Olive Oil
2 tsp Vom Fass Aceto Balsamico di Modena Riserva Quality
Salt and grounded black pepper to taste

Vom Fass Styrian Pumpkin Seed Oil and Aceto Balsamico di Modena Maletti Riserva Speciale for drizzling

1. Cook Ceres Organics black quinoa according to package instructions.

2. Heat up grill pan. Place all vegetables in a large bowl and drizzle in Vom Fass Madonia - Extra Virgin Olive Oil, salt and grounded black pepper. Toss evenly. Arrange the vegetables in the hot grill pan and grill them until cooked before turning over. Do not keep turning the vegetables around as it may not leave nice grill marks on them.

3. Remove cooked vegetables onto a plate and let them cool a little before slicing them into bite-sized pieces.

4. In a small bowl, mix in all the ingredients for the dressing with a small whisk or fork. Taste to adjust the seasonings.

5. In a large bowl, toss the cooked black quinoa, grilled vegetables and dressing together before placing them in a serving bowl.

6. Garnish with crushed hazelnut and pumpkin seeds before drizzle lightly with Vom Fass Styrian Pumpkin Seed Oil and a few drops of Vom fass Aceto Balsamico di Modena Maletti Riserva Speciale.