Monday 26 January 2015

Sweet Potato, Rice and Quinoa Salad

Fires, devastation, floods and now we have Santos Tour Down Under.

Adelaide is crazy at the moment and it wont stop until April. February and March are taken up with Adelaide Festival of Arts and the Fringe Festival. Oh, and did I mention Adelaide Writers Week?  And, they have kept day light saving well into April too!

How is one supposed to concentrate on food? I suppose when your tummy rumbles it's time to consider making a beeline for the kitchen to make something fast, easy but amazingly tasty and nutritious. No time for baking, pastry making or getting out the ice cream churner!

So here is a little tip; this whole salad will take you 30 minutes to make. It's something really tasty and nutritious and with any luck you will score some left overs for another day. It keeps perfectly well covered in the fridge for a couple of days. Serve with an 'Omelette aux fine herbes' (omelet with herbs) and you have a meal fit for a queen

Sweet Potato, Rice and Quinoa Salad


Ingredients

2 Sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped into cubes
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic minced
1 cup of low GI brown rice
1/2 cup of Quinoa - I used mixed colours; white, black, red
1 onion finely chopped
2 teaspoon smoked paprika
2teaspoon chilli flakes
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
salt and pepper
1 cup of stock or water
1 tablespoon chopped chives
1 tablespoon chopped parsley

The rice takes the longest to cook, so once the rice is on, put in your sweet potato and start cooking your quinoa.

Cook rice in whichever way you normally do until it is cooked. I usually use a rice cooker and it takes around 20 -30 minutes. I add salt to the water prior to switching it on. This is the low GI rice I found in the supermarket.


Take an oven proof tray, cover with baking paper and add the chopped sweet potato. Give the potato an nice sprinkling of olive oil and 1 teaspoon chilli flakes, 1 teaspoon of smoked paprika and roast in a moderate oven 180ยบ for 30 minutes or until it is cooked and browned on all sides. 


In a fry pad, add 1 teaspoon of oil and add the minced garlic and the onion. Allow to cook until soft and it is just beginning to turn brown around the edges. Add quinoa and stock or water and continue cooking for around 15 - 20 minutes until the quinoa is cooked and there is no stock left. I used Coles Tricolour Quinoa for extra colour, but you can use whichever you have available.


Take the potato out of the oven. By now your rice should be cooked and your quinoa should be ready to serve. It is just a matter of putting everything together now.


Add the quinoa and onion mixture to the rice in a nice bowl and stir together. Add 1 teaspoon of smoked paprika, the red wine vinegar and 1 teaspoon of chilli flakes. Mix together. Top with the roasted sweet potato a handful of chopped parsley and chives. Check seasoning and add salt and pepper to suit. Serve.



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