Last week's in part 1 the recipes were about those "ancient" grains and meat dishes. This week it's all vegetarian. Yin & Yan, you might say. Let me repeat my mantra: the secret of a long, healthy life is to have a diversified diet that includes grains & pulses, vegetables which can be punctuated with little meat and seafood (that is if you are an omnivore.) Think of the way the Chinese prepare and eat their food: the meat is treated as an adjunct of a dish, not as the main protein source.
And exercise. A walk after dinner does wonders.
First of all here's the conversion site I use, very handy when bookmarked!
Let's kick off today's recipes with this amazingly healthy salad:
Amaranth & Lentil Salad with Grilled Eggplant & Fennel:
Nutritionally, both the leaves and grain of amaranth are of unusual value. But this time I'll use the leaves which taste like spinach or Swiss chard with a spicy bite to it. Amaranth is also rich in B-Complex vitamins so when combined with lentils you have a powerful dish.
For 4 to 6 persons you will need 8 ounces of dried green lentils, 8 ounces of fresh amaranth leaves (if impossible to get, you can substitute with either spinach, Swiss chard or even kale), 2 eggplants, 4 fennel bulbs, 2 bell peppers, red & green, 4 garlic cloves, finely minced, 1 large shallot, finely diced, 4 tablespoons (60 ml) raspberry vinegar, 1/3 cup (200ml) extra virgin olive oil, salt & pepper to taste.
First soak the lentils for a couple of hours and rinse well under cold water. Cook them over medium heat with a dash of the olive oil and some salt, drain and set aside to cool. To retain most of the iron and Vitamin C, steam the amaranth leaves for 5 minutes, cool and set aside. Slice the eggplants thickly, fennel bulbs and bell peppers, brush them with olive oil and grill them all on both sides for 5 minutes. In a serving plate or platter, toss the lentils into the amaranth leaves, mix well and garnish with the grilled vegetables.
In a mixing bowl throw the garlic and chopped shallot, add the vinegar then whisk in the olive oil, the chopped basil and season as you see fit. Pour over the "salad" and serve.
A poster asked for a recipe for spelt. I use spelt mostly as a flour for bread but here's a neat recipe using pearled spelt (same grain but with its outer husk removed) as a risotto.
Note: spelt is not suitable for coeliac sufferers, it contains gluten.
Spelt & Wild Mushroom Risotto:
For 4 to 6 persons you will need 12 ounces (340 grams approx.) of pearled spelt, 16 ounces of wild mushrooms (fresh if you can find them, if not use button mushrooms or shiitake, oyster mushrooms, whichever you can find), 4 garlic cloves & 1 leek, finely minced, a small bunch of flat parsley, 2 soupspoons olive oil, half a pint of dry white wine and a full pint of vegetable stock, salt & pepper to taste. These nutty grains have a bouncier, more resilient texture than rice and make a really good risotto.
First it's best to rinse the spelt under cold water then soak it in a bowl of water for 20 minutes before cooking. Heat the olive oil in your favorite cooking vessel, add the garlic, leek and chopped mushrooms and sweat for a couple of minutes, stirring. Add the spelt and stir for a minute, making sure all of the grains are well coated and not sticking together. Then add the dry white, keep stirring for a few seconds, then gradually add the vegetable stock in batches, making sure the liquids are well absorbed. This should not take more than 10, 12 minutes altogether. Throw in the chopped parsley towards the end and serve. Add some grated Parmesan or Fontina cheese if you want a richer dish.
The use of spelt goes back to about 5000 BC, when it was first cultivated in the region now called Iran. A kernel of spelt looks like a large grain of rice; it has a tough outer husk that protects its nutrients. Removing the husk makes spelt costly to process, so this ancient grain all but vanished in the United States until it was rediscovered about 12 years ago by a grain purveyor in the Midwest. Even though it does contain gluten, spelt seems to be tolerated by most wheat-sensitive people.
Moving along, now it's quinoa's turn.
Quinoa is high in protein and includes all the nine essential amino acids supplements. It is the choice of grains for vegans, as it helps them take in the adequate amount of proteins, required in a healthy diet. It contains lysine, an amino acid that is very important for the growth of tissues and repair mechanism. It is an excellent source of magnesium, iron, copper, phosphorous and even manganese. It has slow releasing, high level of carbohydrates, that give the stomach a full feeling for a long time. Thus, making it good for people who are watching their weight and need to maintain adequate blood sugar levels.
Quinoa & Smoked Tofu Stir-fry:
For 4 to 6 persons you will need 10 ounces (roughly 280 grams) of quinoa, 18 ounces of smoked tofu (or tempeh which is just as good), a bunch of Bok Choy, chopped roughly, 2 red onions, cut into strips, 6 to 8 cloves of garlic, peeled and minced finely, a handful of sun-dried tomatoes, cut into little bits, 4 red chili peppers (or 6 to 8 Thai green chilies) cut finely, 2 celery sticks, a small amount of toasted sesame oil, and have your bottle of Ketjap Manis or Tamari handy.
Note the following: quinoa is coated with a waxy substance called saponin that has a bitter taste to naturally repel birds and insects from eating the grain. Because of this, it is important to rinse quinoa before adding to any dish.
First cook the de-coated quinoa: just put the grain in a pot and cover with water. Bring the pot to a boil, cover, and turn down the heat to a low simmer. Let it cook for about 15 minutes, then remove from heat. the grains should be fluffy. Drain well and set aside.
Cube your smoked tofu or tempeh. Choose a large stir-fry pan or wok, pour a little sesame oil, add the onion and garlic first, stir well and cook for 2 minutes, then add the sun-dried tomato bits (it gives a sensational taste to the dish and you need less salt), then the chilies, chopped celery, bok choy, keep stirring as you cook, add the cubed tofu then the quinoa, mix it well then toss in some Ketjap Manis or Tamari to taste.
Have you ever tried teff? Teff is the smallest grain in the world. It takes about 150 teff seeds to equal the weight of a kernel of wheat!
Ivory and brown teff are sweet tasting grains unlike any other. Brown teff has a subtle hazelnut, almost chocolate-like flavor and a moist texture similar to millet, but more exotic. Ivory teff has a milder flavor than the brown. Tinier than a poppy seed, teff is a nutritional powerhouse.
This naturally gluten free grain is great as porridge. I've seen pancake batter made with teff as well. Teff packs a nutritional punch, and a serious one at that. Many believe Ethiopian runners owe their dominance in the long-distance running field to this tiny native African grain. Try the following recipe if you're about to enroll in a marathon!
Honeyed Teff Porridge with Dates:
For 2 servings you will need a cup of teff, 4 cups water (although you can mix water & milk if you wish to have a richer porridge), 2 or 3 ounces of dried dates, cut up, 2 ounces of Acacia honey (or any honey you like), a pinch of cinnamon and a pinch of grated nutmeg.
Combine teff and water (and milk) in a medium-sized saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover, and let simmer until the liquid is absorbed which should be about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the chopped dates and the cinnamon & nutmeg. Top it up with a generous amount of honey.
'Tis the season of the mackerel here. I will do a diary on seafood next week.
If you have missed some of the Tales from the Larder series, here is a few that I think are ok to look into: Salt, Vinegar, Olive Oil, Mustard, and my favorite, Pepper (so far).