Apart from a fair amount of cookbooks, I have a huge collection of recipes from magazines and catalogues. I collect them with the hope that someday I will try them out. I have tried a few of them.
I love to adapt these recipes to suit my preference and it adds to a great repository of recipes for future use.
My fitness club provides members with a magazine once in a couple of months, featuring the club’s facilities, healthy recipes to try and trends in fitness and such. This magazine comes with a lovely collection of recipes that are well balanced in terms of flavours and nutrition.
This Lemony Quinoa with Feta is one such recipe that was featured in the latest edition, and I couldn’t help but try this one out. It is such a simple recipe yet packed with nutrition.
Quinoa is a great protein source for vegetarians and vegans. It is also loaded with fibre and iron making it a great ingredient to include for those who love eating healthy.
This superfood is perfect for diabetics and those on a gluten-free diet. It is a tummy-friendly food and makes a delish meal whatever you choose to have it with. The nutty flavour is unique and flavourful.
Ingredients
- Quinoa – 1 cup
- Spring onions/scallions/green onions – 2 sprigs
- Garlic – 3 cloves, peeled and chopped finely
- Capsicum (red & green) – ½ each, deseeded and finely chopped
- Feta – 100 gms (I used reduced-fat feta, use any of your choice)
- Curry powder – 1 tspn
- Chilli flakes (optional) – ¼ tspn
- Olive oil – ½ tblspn
- Lemon juice – 2 tblspns
- Stock/ water – Enough to cook the quinoa
- Salt and pepper – To taste
Directions
- Wash quinoa thoroughly to remove all the scummy water.
- Cook quinoa in water or stock until the liquids are completely absorbed.
- If you are using water instead of stock, you may have to add salt.
- While the quinoa is cooking, chop the spring onions. Trim the ends and cut the white and green bits.
- Once the quinoa is cooked, drain any excess water. Using a fork, fluff up the quinoa so it does not get too sticky.
- Heat oil in a pan. Add the garlic, sauté till they are soft.
- Add the white bits of those chopped spring onions, and sauté for another minute.
- Once done, add the chopped capsicum, curry powder, chilli flakes and pepper powder and cook the vegetable for an additional 2 minutes. Ensure the capsicum is not too soggy.
- Finally, add the cooked quinoa and combine all the ingredients well.
- At this stage, check the salt in the quinoa and add more salt, if required. It would be important to note that feta contains a fair bit of salt. Exercise caution.
- Turn off the flame, add the lemon juice. Give it a good mix.
- Transfer quinoa into serving bowls.
- Sprinkle some of the green bits of the spring onions.
- Crumble some feta and sprinkle them on top of the serving bowls.
- Serve warm.
Tips:
- Add/omit ingredients based on your preference.
- Replace spring onions with leeks or regular white onions.
- Replace feta with goat’s cheese or other cheese varieties.
- If you dislike or don’t get quinoa, replace it with millets or rice.
- To make it extra flavourful, you could ad some lemon zest to the dish before serving.
- Replace olive oil with infused oils, butter or other oils of your choice.
- If you don’t have curry powder replace it with garam masala.
- The original recipe called for the use of saffron, mustard and basil leaves. Use them optionally.
