The Manchurian Sleeper Agent

Let's talk about quinoa! Whenever I mention it, most people look at me like I'm an alien. "Keeno-what?" Pronounced either "keen-wah" or "kin-oh-ah", quinoa has its origins in the Incan regions of South America. Ancient civilizations valued quinoa very highly, only second to potatoes, and recognized its ability to increase stamina in their warriors. 

Although it's not a common item in most kitchens today, it's gaining popularity as people "rediscover" this wonderful food--what I call the Manchurian sleeper agent of cuisine! Quinoa is an amino acid-rich seed that has a fluffy, creamy, slightly crunchy texture and a somewhat nutty flavor when cooked, and you can find quinoa in the grocery store year-round. Quinoa looks like a grain, but it is actually a relative of leafy green vegetables like spinach and Swiss chard. 


Not only is quinoa high in protein, but the protein it supplies is complete protein, meaning that it includes all nine essential amino acids--making it a good choice for vegans (and vegetarians) concerned about adequate protein intake, but quinoa is especially well-endowed with the amino acid lysine, which is essential for tissue growth and repair. In my personal experience, lysine is great for pesky cold sores. In addition to protein, quinoa features a host of other health-building nutrients. Because quinoa is a very good source of manganese as well as a good source of magnesium, iron, copper and phosphorus, it's especially good for migraine headaches and diabetes.

Quinoa is very easy to cook. Most packaged quinoa has already been cleaned, but it doesn’t hurt to soak and rinse it just in case--the seeds have a bitter substance that protects them from predators, like birds. Quinoa cooks in about 15 minutes, and it’s easy to tell when it’s done (not only because the liquid has fully absorbed), but because the seeds display a little white thread that curls around them.

Mais oui, Ratatouille!

I'll apologize in advance for not having any photos of this beautiful dish--the last time I made it, I didn't take any, and I won't be able to for another few weeks! I'm sorry! But once you taste it, you will forgive all my sins...

Yes, today, my friends, is the day that I let you in on a little something I picked up recently. Not in my travels, unfortunately--I had no oven whilst living in Paris--but just wondering aloud what to do with the beautiful zucchini, yellow squash, and eggplant I had lying around. And then it came to me: ratatouille! We all know ratatouille as a bit, well...soggy. And I wanted to give it a bit of a makeover. This recipe was inspired by Thomas Keller's confit byalidi, which is the recipe actually used in the movie! It's colorful and delicious, but looked a bit complicated, so here's my simplified version. I serve over quinoa, topped with some delicious feta.

Oven-baked Ratatouille 

Ingredients

For the tomato sauce 

1 onion, finely chopped 

2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

1 cup of tomato puree (see my recipe here)

A glug or two of olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

For the vegetable topping

1 small eggplant

1 small-medium zucchini

1 small-medium yellow squash 

1 small red pepper

2 small onions

A few glugs of olive oil

Yellow curry powder (that's right, curry!)

For the quinoa bottom

1/2 cup of quinoa

1 cup of vegetable stock (or chicken/turkey or water)

Directions

Start by preheating your oven to 375 degrees F. 

Pour the tomato paste into the bottom of an oval baking dish (approx. 10 inches long) and stir in the onion, garlic and olive oil. Season generously with salt and pepper. 

Trim the ends off of the onions, zucchini, yellow squash, eggplant and bell pepper (be careful here, try to leave the insides intact like a tube). Cut all your vegetables into very thin slices--I don't have a mandoline, but I hear they're great; I use a sharp knife, and it's fine. This doesn't have to be perfect! 

On top of the tomato sauce, arrange slices of the prepared vegetables around the edge, alternating vegetables and working inward, so that each overlaps with the previous. You want a little bit of each flat surface to show. Drizzle some olive oil atop the vegetables, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Season with as much curry as you like, or you can leave it out if you'd like. 

Cover the dish with a piece of parchment paper that has been cut to fit inside. Bake for approximately 45 minutes, or until the vegetables have softened a bit--you want some structure left, but you also want the liquid to have been released. They should not yet be brown at the edges, and you may see liquid bubbling at the edges of the parchment paper. 

While your ratatouille is in the oven, combine 1/2 cup quinoa with 1 cup stock of your choice/water, and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and let cook until all the liquid is absorbed, about 10 minutes total. 

Serve your ratatouille over quinoa, and sprinkle some feta cheese on top.