RECIPE: Quinoa Caviar

[Guest guest]

Okay, I made the Quinoa Caviar recipe (repeated below for convenience)

tonight. It looks, well, it looks like a bowl of quinoa in darker

stuff. Then again, it looks no worse than caviar so it could look

pretty arranged nicely with garnish.

 

It tastes a little similar to caviar (at least what I remember it

tasting like. It's been so many years) and has a mouth-feel similar to

the very small caviar but without the same " burst " (those who have

eaten caviar will know what I'm talking about.

 

In fact, it tastes much better than I remember caviar tasting.

Especially with a whole grain cracker. Nice. I think maybe it needs a

new name because I don't like using the word " caviar " because of the

non-vegetarian associations, but I'm not feeling particularly creative

tonight so if someone else has a better name . . .

 

I used pre-washed quinoa so there was no issue with the lack of a

rinsing step. If you use non-pre-washed quinoa, just wash it as you

normally do before putting it into the pan. I couldn't see where it

would make much difference because by the time the quinoa goes in, the

onions really don't give it a lot of space to " toast " like the

directions say.

 

Make sure to really cut the onions small. If the pieces are too big

they will interfere with the look of the dish.

 

The eggplant I used was about 6 ounces bigger than what the recipe

calls for so it appears that there is some leeway on that.

 

Sparrow

 

QUINOA CAVIAR

 

ingredients:

 

1 small eggplant (10 to 12 ounces)

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1 onion, finely chopped

1 cup quinoa

2 cups salted water

2 cloves garlic, minced

3 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro

3 tablespoons chopped parsley

4 to 5 teaspoons tamari or soy sauce (or to taste)

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (or to taste)

salt and freshly ground black pepper (to taste)

 

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Prick the eggplant in several

spots with a fork. Roast the eggplant on a nonstick baking sheet for

40 minutes, or until soft. Let eggplant cool.

 

2. Heat the olive oil in a nonstick frying pan. Add the onion and cook

over medium heat until soft but not brown, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in the

quinoa and lightly toast it for 1 minute. Stir in 2 cups water and

salt to taste and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover the pan, and

gently simmer for 15 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and let

stand for 10 minutes. Uncover the pan and fluff the quinoa with a

fork. Transfer the quinoa to a mixing bowl and let cool.

 

3. Cut the eggplant in half lengthwise. Scrape out the flesh, taking

care not to pierce the eggplant skin, and place it in a food processor

with the garlic, cilantro, parsley, tamari, and lemon juice. Puree to

a smooth paste. Stir the eggplant mixture into the quinoa. Correct the

seasoning, adding tamari, pepper, or lemon juice to taste. Spoon the

" caviar " back into the eggplant skins and serve it with toast points,

Brushcetta, or Pita Chips, or on boiled new potatoes with no-fat sour

cream.

 

Makes 4-1/2 cups, enough to serve 8 to 10.