Q is for Quail, Quince and Quinoa

Q was a difficult one. I have never cooked with Quail or Quince before so I was definitely stepping outside of my comfort range. Quinoa was a must but what could I cook with it. Luckily there was a Toby Puttock recipe in the paper the week before "Q" for a Quinoa salad. I thought this would go well with Roasted Quail. For dessert I delved into the world of Quince, with a Donna Hay Roasted Quince. For starters I had some Maggie Beer Quince paste and Brie cheese with some Quackers.


Roasted Quail with Quinoa Salad
8 quail (cleaned and rinsed)
1 cup fresh mushrooms, chopped
1 cup seasoned breadcrumbs
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon salt
1⁄4 teaspoon ground red pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons flour
1 tablespoon seasoning salt
3 cups chicken stock
1 teaspoon spring onion, minced
1 teaspoon fresh parsley, minced
cooking spray

1. Pre-heat the oven to 160C.
2. Lightly rub all the quail, inside and out with salt.
3. In a large frypan, over medium heat, melt the butter and saute the mushrooms, breadcrumbs and salt until the mushrooms start to soften. Stuff the quail with this mixture.
4. Using the same frypan, make a roux by pouring in the olive oil and browning the flour in it. Then add the chicken stock, spring onions, red pepper and parsley to the roux. Saute the mix for about 5 minutes, until the onions are tender and sauce is glossy.
5. Next, spray a baking pan or large casserole dish with cooking spray and place the stuffed quail in it. Pour the sauce over the quail.
6. Bake uncovered for 45 minutes, basting 2 or 3 times during the baking process.
7. Serve two quail to a person.

Quinoa Salad

2 heaped tbsp low fat plain greek yoghurt

sea salt and cracked pepper

2 small handfuls of mint leaves, finely chopped

2 pinches of ground cumin

3/4 cup of quinoa

1 bunch of broccolini, ends trimmed and cut into 3cm lengths

1 bunch of asparagus, ends trimmed and cut into 3cm lengths

1 bulb of baby fennel

1 tbs of salted baby capers, rinsed and roughly chopped

1 small handful of dill, chopped

finely grated zest and juice of 1 lemon

Extra virgin olive oil for drizzling

1. Place yoghurt in a bowl and season with S&P.  Add half the chopped mint leaves and mix. Sprinkle with a pinch of cumin, then cover and refrigerate until needed.
2. Toast the quinoa in a heavy based saucepan over medium heat for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add 2 cups (500mls) water to pan, bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Turn off the heat and set aside, covered for 5 minutes to allow the quinoa to absorb any remaining liquid. Transfer to a bowl and place in the fridge to cool.
3. Meanwhile bring a saucepan of salted water to the boil and blanch the broccolini and asparagus for 1 minute, then drain and refresh under cold water to stop the cooking process. Set aside until needed.
4. Use a sharp knife to remove the stalks from the fennel bulb. Reserve the fronds and discard the stalks. Cut the fennel in half lengthways, then slice into thin strips and place in a bowl in iced water to keep it fresh and crisp. (Use a mandolin)
5. Remove the cooled quinoa from the fridge. Add the broccolini and asparagus, fennel, capers, dill, lemon zest and juice, remaining mint leaves and a pinch of cumin, reserved fennel fronds and a good drizzle of oil. Mix carefully so you don't bruise the herbs, then season with S&P.
6. Serve the quinoa with a dollop of mint and cumin yoghurt on top.

Roasted Quince (Serves 4-6)
1 lemon, juiced
1.6kg (about 4) quinces
2 cinnamon sticks
1 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped
3 strips orange rind
2 cups (440g) caster sugar
2 cups (500ml) water
store-bought vanilla ice-cream (optional), to serve

1. Preheat oven to 200°C. 
2. Place the lemon juice in a large bowl of cold water. 
3. Peel the quinces and cut each into 6 pieces. Place the quince into the lemon water. 
4. Place the cinnamon sticks, vanilla bean and seeds, orange rind, sugar, water and quince in a large roasting tray. Cover the tray with aluminium foil and cook for 50–60 minutes or until the quince is starting to soften. 
5. Remove the foil, turn the quince and cook, spooning over the syrup occasionally, for a further 30–35 minutes or until the quince is dark red and caramelised. 
6. Serve with vanilla ice-cream, if desired, and drizzle with syrup.

Note: The quince will discolour quickly after the skin is peeled; hence placing in the lemon water until it's needed, helps to stop the discolouration.

It's a bit rich

Did you know that 2013 was the International Year of Quinoa, as designated by the UN, to recognise the long held practices of the Andean people who have been harvesting and eating quinoa for thousands of years. The Incas called it the mother of all grains. Quinoa was definitely the 'next big thing' in 2013, and I admit I tried it out in a few savoury things, mostly salads, and I wasn't overly impressed.  Let's be honest, it's just another grain, which is gluten free and high in protein, fibre, magnesium and iron - we could all do with plenty of that. However, because it's a so-called superfood we pay a premium for it.  People in the traditional South American quinoa growing areas are now starting to worry about food security, because the crop price has gone up (as it naturally would, when big markets get involved) and this inflated/higher price is making it harder for people to purchase it in these poorer areas.

I get a bit skeptical when people (media!) talk about superfoods.  Aren't they just the things our parents/grandparents told/made us eat because they're good for us - vegetables (broccoli, sweet potato, avocado, beans, tomato, chilli, garlic, ginger), grains (brown rice, oats), fruits (apples, bananas, blueberries), yoghurt, nuts, fish.  Then along comes goji and acai berries, chia seeds, pearl barley, kale, quinoa, green tea, green smoothies, coconut water, need I go on? Most of these have been around for a long, long time - thousands of years in many cases.  I think it can only be a good thing that people are going back to less processed and less packaged foods, and embracing the natural foods that have been around for thousands of years.  The next step is to source it locally and support local farmers and businesses. For example, why buy garlic that has been shipped to Australia from China, that has probably been stored/frozen for who knows how long by your friendly Coles supermarket, when you can get it at the local fruit shop or farmer's market where it's been harvested in the last week?

Right, so off my high horse now and onto the, you guessed it, Quinoa recipe.  I hadn't thought of using quinoa in a sweet dish until earlier this week when a friend of mine bought a chocolate quinoa cake to lunch.  It was rich and tasty and several of us wanted the recipe.  Much googling and pinteresting brought me to the recipe below.  In my search I was also looking for a recipe with mostly normal ingredients too.  So what you see below is the normal version and in brackets after some ingredients are the interesting substitutes you could make if you could find them or were so inclined!

Rich Chocolate Quinoa Cake
2/3 cup quinoa
1 1/3 cup water
1/3 cup milk (or buttermilk)
2 large eggs
4 large eggwhites
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup olive/vegetable oil/butter (or coconut oil)
1 1/2 cups caster sugar (or coconut sugar)
1 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

1. Preheat oven to 180C.
2. Rinse the quinoa, then add it to a small saucepan with the water.  Usually you use double the water to the amount of quinoa.  Bring it to the boil, then reduce heat and simmer with lid on for 10 - 12 minutes, until the water is absorbed.  Once cooked, leave it with the lid on for another 5 - 10 minutes, before fluffing it up with a fork and allowing to cool (i.e. tip it out onto a plate).
3. Whilst the quinoa is cooking prepare the cake tin.  I used a bundt tin, as it's a heavyish cake and I wanted to make sure it was cooked through.  So grease the tin, then flour it.  You could also use cocoa instead of the flour, or line the tin (if it's a normal shape) with baking paper.
4. If you're using butter or coconut oil, melt it and allow to cool.
5. In a blender add milk, eggs, eggwhites and vanilla. Pulse for a few seconds.
6. To the blender add 2 cups of cooled cooked quinoa and the oil. I found that the quinoa I'd made was just over two cups, so I used it all.  Blend until smooth.  Be warned, this mixture doesn't look that flash, but it's ok!
7. In a large bowl mix the dry ingredients (sugar, cocoa, baking powder, bicarb and salt).
8. Add the wet mixture to the dry mixture and stir to combine.  Mix well.
9. Pour into tin and bake for 45 - 50 minutes, or until it is cooked (test with a skewer - it should come out clean).
10. Allow to cool in tin.  Do not attempt to tip it out while hot/warm as it will most likely fall apart!
11. Serve dusted with icing sugar, with berry coulis and a dollop of cream.

A Collective Sigh

This week my challenge was to cook with Quinoa. It wasn't so much a challenge, as a request. I had wanted to cook Quinoa for quite some time, seeing as it seems to be popping up everywhere these days. Quinoa is touted as a 'superfood' and is a grain-like food. It can easily substitute in recipes for cous cous or rice. I found the texture to be softer than cous cous, probably because it swells up, when cooked, a little more like rice. For many people one of the advantages of quinoa is that it is gluten free, and thus far easier to digest. You will definitely pay more for quinoa (around $6 for a box of 3oog at my local Coles), than rice or cous cous, but I think it is worth it for a change every now and then, for a texture part way in between those two.

So what did I cook? First course was a Carrot and Ginger Soup. And then being my first test (and taste) of quinoa, I simply boiled it up and served it as a side with some beautiful Lamb steaks, a lemon and fennel salad, and home-made harissa.

Carrot and Ginger Soup (serves 6)
2 tbsp butter
1 onion, chopped
1 celery stalk, chopped
1 medium potato, peeled, chopped
5 1/2 cups chopped carrots
2 tsp minced fresh ginger (I used heaps more than that)
1 1/2L chicken stock
150mL whipping cream (optional) nutmeg chives salt and pepper

1. As with all soups, melt the butter, then add the onion and celery and cook for about 5 minutes, until softened.
2. Add potato, carrots, ginger and chicken stock. Stir, bring to the boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer for 20 mins, until all veges are cooked.
3. Blend/puree/process the soup till it's smooth.
4. Grate fresh nutmeg over the top. Stir. Season with salt and pepper.
5. Add the cream to the soup and stir to combine, or just add a dollop as you serve, topped with chives.

This soup certainly did the trick. I had actually made it a few days earlier, and in a triple batch. We have a tradition at work to share a soup/curry/risotto etc on a Tuesday and I was first cab of the rank. I used a huge nob of ginger from my garden, as I didn't think that only using 2 teaspoons would be anywhere near enough.

Ginger from my garden

Ginger is one of the easiest things to grow yourself. Next time you buy some from the supermarket or fruit shop, snap off a bit and put it in a snaplock bag on your bench until it starts to produce a shoot. Then plonk it in a pot or straight in the ground, and give it a good drink of water. It will do it's think and keep growing and growing. Wait till you see the tall green shoot come up - the taller it is the bigger the ginger underneath I've found. So when you need some ginger, pull it up, snap off what you need, and rebury it. Keep dividing it up and your ginger will just keep re-generating and you'll never have to buy it again.

Thyme Lamb with fennel and parsley quinoa (serves 2)
100g quinoa
2 lamb backstraps (150g - 200g each) - I used lamb sirloin steaks
1 - 2 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 - 2 tbsp thyme leaves (could use lemon thyme if you can find it)
1 small fennel bulb, trimmed, thinly sliced
1/4 - 1/2 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
olive oil
1 garlic clove
1 lemon - finely grate rind, then juice it
lemon wedges and harissa (to serve)

Lamb sirloin steaks

1. Cook quinoa in pan of boiling water for 12 minutes or until tender. Drain, cover and keep warm.
2. Rub lamb with mustard (use more if you need it), then roll in thyme, salt & pepper. Heat large lightly oiled pan over med-high. Cook lamb for 3 mins each side (med-rare) or to your like. Remove and rest, covered for 5 minutes.
3. Toss fennel with parsley, lemon rind, lemon juice, garlic. Add in quinoa or serve separately.
4. Slice lamb thickly and serve on quinoa and salad, with lemon wedges and harissa (see recipe below)

Neil Perry's Harissa
4 hot red chillies, coarsely chopped with seeds
2 red capsicum, roasted, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
2 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp coriander seeds
Sea salt and olive oil

1. In a mortar and pestle pound up the chilli, garlic, cumin, coriander and salt. Taste the chilli to check how hot it is! Add a bit of olive oil if you need to, to make a smooth paste.
2. Add in the thinly sliced capsicum and pound till it has broken up and is well combined with the chilli mixture.
3. Serve immediately, or spoon into sterilised jars and cover with some olive oil. Refrigerate.

Thyme lamb with fennel and parsley quinoa

This harissa is one of my stand-by favourites. It is quick and easy, and oh so tasty with lamb, fish, chicken, silverside, any meat really. It is also good as a dip for veges or with some cheese. Many many uses, I think you all should add it to your repertoire.

The whole dish was amazing. The quinoa was surprisingly light and fluffy. I thought it would be a little coarser like cous cous. The harissa had a beautiful hit of chilli and balanced out the lemon and fennel in the salad. The lamb was perfect - so tender, so juicy. If I do say so myself, this was brilliant. I give myself 5 out of 5 wooden spoons!


Lucky me I had the leftovers for lunch, the next day in the form of a quinoa harissa salad. I mixed the remaining quinoa with the remaining harissa, then added a whack of chopped flat leaf parsley. I had some left over silverside, which I chopped up and threw in as well. It was so good. You've just got to love a dinner, that keeps on giving.