Quinoa zucchini casserole

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For years now I've been making a very simple casserole using leftover cooked rice, shredded zucchini, shredded cheese, green onions, and sometimes a quick bechamel cream sauce as a binder.

If my family liked zucchini more, this is exactly the kind of side dish they'd gobble down - starchy, cheesy, not over-the-top healthy but with a whiff of vegetable. As it happens, they're not zucchini fans. But I love zucchini. So I make this casserole for myself. (And for parties and potlucks.)

Recently I tried using leftover cooked quinoa instead of rice, and I think it's even better. The top layer of the casserole gets crunchier and the whole dish has a finer texture.

I'm swimming in quinoa these days thanks to my friends at Alter Eco Foods. They chose my recipe for salmon quinoa cakes with dill-caper sauce as a semi-finalist in their recent recipe contest, and now I'm getting quinoa care packages once a month for a year. Rice, take a rest. It's quinoa time!

What's your favorite way to eat quinoa? Leave a comment below with a link to your favorite quinoa recipe.

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Quinoa zucchini casserole

by Erika Kerekes October-1-2013

A simple side dish casserole with cooked quinoa, shredded zucchini, cheese, and green onions, all bound together in a light cream sauce. Serve as a vegetarian main course or as a side with grilled chicken or fish.

Ingredients

• 2 Tablespoons butter
• 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 cups milk
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• freshly ground pepper
• 2 cups cooked quinoa (measure after cooking; prepare according to package directions)
• 1 pound zucchini, grated (2 large or 5 small)
• 1 1/2 cups grated cheese (mozzarella, Monterey jack, gruyere, cheddar, etc.)
• 1 bunch green onions, chopped

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a medium-sized casserole dish with cooking spray.Melt the butter in a saucepan. Add the flour and stir 1 minute to make a paste. Add the milk, whisking constantly, and bring to a simmer. The mixture will thicken as it heats up. Remove it from the heat, season with salt and pepper, and set it aside to cool a bit.In a large bowl, mix together the quinoa, zucchini, grated cheese and green onions. Add the cream sauce and stir to combine. Turn the mixture into the prepared baking dish. Bake the casserole for about 45 minutes; the edges should be bubbling and the top golden brown. Serve hot.

Details

Prep time: 10 mins Cook time: 45 mins Total time: 55 mins Yield: 8 servings

Salmon quinoa cakes with dill caper sauce

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Inspired by my friend Kristina Vanni, owner of Cooking Contest Central, I've been trying to enter more recipe contests lately. Kristina often points out that hundreds of food companies and commodity boards run recipe contests each year, with substantial sums of money and other prizes up for grabs. Food bloggers create recipes all the time - why not do it for a shot at the gold?

The thing is, there's a knack to winning recipe contests. That's why the members of Cooking Contest Central, a longstanding online community for recipe contest participants, consistently beat the pants off the rest of the field. Look at the winners of just about any recipe contest and you'll see at least one CCC member. The same names come up over and over.

What does it take to win a recipe contest? An eye for trendy ingredients and flavor combinations. Clever, highly visible use of whatever ingredient(s) or product(s) are sponsoring the contest. If it's a contest with history, an understanding of what kinds of dishes have won in years past. And a way with recipe names. I'm still learning on all these fronts. I've entered more contests this year than any other, but my track record hasn't been great.

Which is why when I entered the Alter Eco Foods quinoa recipe contest last month, I wasn't expecting to place. And yet, somehow, I did! My Salmon Quinoa Cakes with Caper Dill Sauce made the semi-finals. True to form, veteran CCC member Merry Graham took the grand prize for her quinoa tacos. But that's okay - Merry will enjoy her weekend in Napa Valley, and I'll be very happy with my year's supply of Alter Eco quinoa.

You can make these salmon cakes with leftover cooked salmon or canned salmon. Either way, no one will turn down these crispy pan-fried fish cakes with crunchy, nutty quinoa and a creamy dill sauce with tangy capers.

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Salmon quinoa cakes with dill caper sauce

by Erika Kerekes September-1-2013

Crispy pan-fried fish cakes made with leftover cooked salmon and quinoa, then dressed with a creamy dill sauce.

Ingredients

• 2 cups cooked salmon (fresh or canned)
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup cooked Alter Eco quinoa
• 3 green onions, chopped
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
• 2 Tablespoons mustard
• 3/4 cup mayonnaise, divided
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 lemon, zest and juice, divided
• olive oil, for frying
• 1/2 cup Greek yogurt
• 1/4 cup capers
• 2 Tablespoons brine from capers
• 2 teaspoons dried dill
• freshly ground pepper

Instructions

In a large bowl, flake the salmon with a fork. Mix together the salmon, eggs, quinoa, green onions, parsley, mustard, 1/4 cup mayonnaise, salt, and half of lemon juice.Form into 8 patties, using about 1/3 cup of the mixture per patty. Heat olive oil in a large skillet and pan-fry patties until golden brown on both sides.While salmon quinoa cakes are frying, make the sauce: Mix together remaining mayonnaise, remaining lemon juice, lemon zest, Greek yogurt, capers, caper brine, dill, and freshly ground pepper to taste. Serve salmon quinoa cakes hot with sauce pooled over.

Details

Prep time: 15 mins Cook time: 15 mins Total time: 30 mins Yield: 8 servings

Easy quinoa fritters {gluten-free}

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I was not planning to make quinoa fritters for dinner. They were sort of an accident.

You see, yesterday I cooked quinoa for the first time. I know, I know - you think I'm nuts. Quinoa is one of the most fashionable grains of the 21st century. So sue me - I had a few bad quinoa experiences and was convinced I didn't like it.

But when I saw organic quinoa at Costco, I thought I'd give it one more try. And I'm glad I did. Because, in fact, I do like quinoa. I especially like the quinoa salad I made yesterday, where I dressed the warm quinoa with mustard, lemon juice and olive oil, and then added green onions, pomegranate arils, feta cheese and chopped toasted pecans. (Recipe coming soon, I promise.)

So the accidental fritters? Well, I made too much quinoa and needed to find another quinoa outlet. I decided to mix the quinoa with eggs, green onions, diced red bell peppers, and a bit of cheese and fry them in patties - very similar to the leftover rice pancakes I make from time to time.

I made these quinoa fritters for dinner tonight and my boys just inhaled them. I was hoping to have a few pancakes left over to pack in their lunches tomorrow. Not so much. They are really, really good. The quinoa gets very crispy and crunchy, and the overall texture of the pancakes stays very light. I highly recommend them.

One of my Facebook friends suggests that these quinoa fritters would work well for Hanukkah when you get sick of potato latkes (if that's even possible). And, by the way, these fritters are absolutely gluten-free.

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Easy quinoa fritters

by Erika Kerekes November-29-2012

Mix leftover cooked quinoa with eggs, vegetables and a bit of cheese and fry the mixture in olive oil, and you've got quinoa fritters - an excellent gluten-free side dish your family will love.

Ingredients

• 2 cups cooked quinoa
• 2 eggs eggs
• 3-4 green onions, chopped
• 1/2 red bell pepper, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup mozzarella or Monterey jack cheese, shredded
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan or Grana Padano cheese
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 4 Tablespoons olive oil, or more as needed for frying

Instructions

Mix the quinoa, eggs, green onions, bell pepper, and both cheeses in a large bowl until the mixture is thoroughly combined.Heat a large nonstick or cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat.Add 1 Tablespoon of olive oil to the pan and swirl to coat. Drop heaping tablespoons of the quinoa mixture into the hot pan; leave space between the fritters. Fry until golden brown, about 2 minutes on each side. Drain on a rack set over a sheet pan or on a plate lined with paper towels. Cook the rest of the fritters in batches, keeping the finished fritters warm in a low oven (200 degrees) if desired. Serve hot.

Details

Prep time: 10 mins Cook time: 20 mins Total time: 30 mins Yield: about 12 fritters

Superfoods Forever: Delicata squash with quinoa and arugula from Laura Malcolm

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Today's Superfood: Quinoa
Protein, fiber, manganese, magnesium, folate

Erika says: Another great Superfood guest post, this time from fellow Los Angeleno Laura Malcolm. Laura and I worked together a few years back, but we really only got to know each other right before we both left the company - unfortunate, because we discovered we had a lot in common. She moved out of town for a while but is back in L.A. and on my shortlist of people I can't wait to have over for dinner.

I go through food obsessions not unlike music obsessions - pick three or four things, repeat on shuffle for a month, have my fill, revisit next year. This fall, arugula and delicata squash managed to find a new home in my kitchen and before long, a place in every dish a brought to a holiday party. It's surprising it took me so long to get to this delicata squash phase, considering how much I love winter squash but detest preparing it (any time I have to peel or dice it, at least). Delicata is, for me, the richness of a butternut squash with the delicacy of a yellow summer squash that, when roasted, gets a slightly crunchy skin (and better texture) than any grilled summer squash.

Quinoa is one of the most well known superfoods because of its amazing qualities, such as being a complete protein and containing a set of amino acids - something that's very uncommon in non-animal products. Quinoa is incredibly versatile, can be eaten any time of day and is a great substitute for rice or couscous. This recipe is a play on a common fall stuffed squash, but I've managed to take my current fall-food obsessions and carry them right through until now. Roasted delicata squash, arugula, quinoa and cranberries make a filling, fresh and colorful superfood dinner.

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Delicata squash with quinoa and arugula

by Laura Malcolm February-12-2012

Roasted delicata squash has the sweetness of butternut without any of the pain-in-the-neck peeling.

Ingredients

• 4 delicata squash
• olive oil
• 1 shallot, minced
• 2 Tbsp cranberry juice
• 4 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 1/2 cups quinoa, uncooked
• 3 cups water
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/4 cup onion, diced
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• 1 5-ounce package arugula
• salt

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut delicata squash in half, and remove the seeds and threads with a spoon. Rub with olive oil and salt, and place cut side down in a baking dish. Bake at 400 until easily pierced, about 25 minutes.In a small saucepan, heat about 1 tsp olive oil. Saute shallot for 2 minutes, then add cranberry juice and balsamic vinegar. Bring to a boil, then turn to low, and leave to reduce while you're cooking. Bring quinoa and water together on the stove to a boil, cover and turn to low. After 15 minutes, you should be able to stir with a fork and see the water has absorbed - if it hasn't, cover and give another minute. Remove from heat and fluff quinoa.Heat about 1 Tbsp olive oil in a saute pan. Add garlic and onion and cook until soft. Add dried cranberries to onion and garlic and let cook for a minute before finally adding quinoa to mixture and tossing to mix. Remove cranberry-balsamic reduction from the stove and whisk in olive oil until it's a taste you like. At this point, I either use a little to dress the arugula as well, or toss the arugula with a very simple olive oil, lemon and salt mixture.Turn roasted delicata squash cut side up and set two on each plate. At this point, you can either layer the arugula and quinoa mixtures in the squash, or I've taken to piling one squash with the quinoa mixture and one with arugula. Drizzle the balsalmic dressing over the top, and enjoy your superfood loaded plate. (The pictured salad also got a blood orange garnish, because, well, it matched the cranberries in the quinoa. Color coordination optional)

Details

Prep time: 15 mins Cook time: 40 mins Total time: 55 mins Yield: 4 servings

Superfoods Month: Veggie cilantro mint quinoa pilaf from Yumkid

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Today's Superfood: Quinoa
Protein, iron, manganese, magnesium, folate, phosphorus


Erika says: I can't wait to make this delicious quinoa pilaf from Rashmi Nigam. Rashmi started Yumkid.com to chronicle her experiences feeding her children healthy, flavorful meals.

"How are you doing on rice? How often are you eating it now?” are questions my doctor always asks. After hearing my response she always says, “You know you need to cut rice down or the ‘insulin storage bins’ along with belly fat will never go away. ” My response has always been “It is my comfort food! Asking me to give up rice is like asking an Italian to give up pasta!”

Over the years I have cut down my consumption of white rice both in terms of frequency and quantity. I now eat it once every other day instead of at every meal. That’s been a big adjustment for me. I struggled because I love my Indian lentils and curries and they taste PERFECT with white rice. There’s something soulful about eating ‘dal-chawal’ (lentils and rice) as the Indian folks say it.

This struggle became easier a few months ago when I started adding quinoa to my diet. Quinoa is high in protein, calcium, and iron, and is a great source of omega acids. The first time I made quinoa, it was a disaster. I didn’t wash it properly and it tasted so soapy. Yes, definitely wash your quinoa properly to remove the saponin, a resin-like substance that is extremely bitter. After several attempts, I have come to embrace quinoa in our home.

This recipe is one of my favorite ways to eat quinoa. I love the green color of this healthy dish! It is perfect for any meal, and a great addition to your school lunch repertoire. It is mildly fragrant but full of flavor. Both the quinoa and the vegetables are crunchy. It is my family’s favorite way to eat quinoa!

Click here to see all the recipes in this Superfoods Month series

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Veggie cilantro mint quinoa pilaf

by Rashmi Nigam January-25-2012

A tasty, healthy mix of vegetables and quinoa with Indian spices. Cilantro and mint add bright, fresh notes.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup cilantro leaves (stems included)
• 1/2 cup fresh mint leaves
• 1 garlic clove
• 1/2-inch piece fresh ginger
• 3 clove
• 3 green cardamom pods
• 1 inch cinnamon stick
• 4 Tbsp grapeseed or canola oil, divided
• 2 red onions, peeled and thinly sliced
• 1 green chili, whole (jalapeno, serrano, etc.)
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 black peppercorns
• 2 cups mixed frozen vegetables (e.g. edamame, carrots, peas, corn, carrots)
• 2 cups quinoa, cooked according to package directions (about 1/2 cup dry)
• 1 tsp salt (or to taste)

Instructions

Make the green paste by combining the cilantro, mint, garlic, ginger, 1 clove, 2 cardamom pods and cinnamon stick in the food processor. Grind the ingredients to a paste.Heat 2 Tbsp of oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add about 3/4 of the sliced onions and saute until they are browned. Set aside.In a large skillet or wok, heat the remaining 2 Tbsp oil. Add the remaining onions, chile, bay leaves, peppercorns, remaining 2 cloves and remaining 1 cardamom pod and saute about 2 minutes, until the onions are translucent. Add the green paste and saute another 2 minutes.Add the frozen vegetables to the pan and cook 2-3 minutes until they are warmed through. Add the cooked quinoa and the salt, stirring to make sure the grains are coated with the green paste. Taste and add more salt if needed.Remove the bay leaves and, if you wish, the cloves, peppercorns and cardamom pods. Turn the pilaf into a serving dish and garnish with the caramelized onions. Serve immediately.

Details

Prep time: 15 mins Cook time: 30 mins Total time: 45 mins Yield: 4 servings