Sopa de Quinua con Queso (Quinoa and Cheese Soup)

July 28, 2008 | Filed Under Guest Bloggers, Quinoa, Queso Fresco, Cereals/Grains, Cheese, Avocados, Fellow Bloggers, Laylita's Recipes, South American Cuisine, Fruits, Soups/Chowders/Gumbos | 28 Comments

Please help me welcome guest blogger, Layla of Laylita’s Recipes. Thank you, Layla, for being here!

Paz

This is my first time as a guest blogger and I’m very happy that it is for Paz, who has been one of the warmest and friendliest people I’ve met since I started my food blog. I wanted to make something that I would make for her if I lived nearby and could bring it over to help her recover, too bad Seattle is kind of far away from NY, so I made a quinoa and cheese soup that is both tasty and healthy. Soup is the answer to all problems, at least that’s the way it seemed when I was growing up in Ecuador: you’re not feeling too well? Eat your soup. You want to get bigger, taller, skinnier, smarter, etc? Eat your soup. You want dessert? Eat your soup. You want to go outside and play? Eat your soup. You would think I would have ended up hating soups, but I actually really enjoy a good bowl of soup, it’s one of those things that I crave when I’m feeling sick and wish my mom lived next door –instead of 4,500 miles away –so that she could make me some homemade soup.

The first step to making a good soup is the refrito, also known as sofrito, which is the base of the soup, it consists of heating oil or butter –or sometimes lard – and adding onions, garlic, tomatoes (peppers, celery and other vegetables can also be added depending on the soup) along with the spices and seasonings you will use for the soup, I almost always add ground cumin and achiote or annatto powder to my refrito, for this quinoa and cheese soup I also added some dry oregano and ground coriander seeds (which are seeds from the cilantro plant that have been dried). This soup has quinoa - which is healthy and all of that good stuff, but what I like about quinoa is the texture, I love the way the little seeds pop in your mouth -, as well as potatoes, cheese and cilantro, which remind a lot of another delicious soup called locro de papas. Whenever I make a soup that has potatoes in it, I like to add the potatoes to the refrito and let them cook for just a few minutes so that they get just a little bit browned and then add the water or broth. I used queso fresco, which is fresh Mexican cheese that you can find in most supermarkets, but you can also use feta cheese instead, feta is a little bit more salty so adjust the salt according to your preference; and like many other Ecuadorian soups I serve this one with some diced avocado and hot sauce on the side.

Paz, thank you for this opportunity and I wish you a speedy recovery.

Sopa de Quinua con Queso (Quinoa and Cheese Soup)

Laylita’s Recipes

Ingredients:

2 tbs olive oil

2 cups diced white onion, about 1 large onion

4 garlic cloves, crushed

1 tomato, peeled, seeded and chopped finely

½ tsp cumin

¼ tsp achiote powder

1 tsp dry oregano

¼ tsp ground coriander

5-6 potatoes, peeled and cut in small chunks

1 cup uncooked quinoa, pre-washed

8 cups water or broth

1 cup milk

2 cups grated or crumbled queso fresco, can use feta cheese

4 tbs finely chopped cilantro or parsley to garnish

Salt and pepper to taste

Sides – avocado and hot sauce

Preparation:

1. Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large saucepan, add the onions, garlic, tomato, cumin, achiote, oregano, coriander, salt and pepper, mix well and cook until the onions are soft, about 8 minutes.

2. Add the chopped potatoes, stir them well to coat them with onions and spices and cook them for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

3. Add the water or broth, bring to a boil.

4. Add the uncooked quinoa, reduce the temperature and simmer until the quinoa and potatoes are tender, about 25 minutes.

5. Add the milk and cheese, stir and cook for another 5 minutes.

6. Add the chopped cilantro or parsley, taste and add additional salt/pepper if needed.

7. Serve warm with diced or sliced avocado and hot sauce.

Grilled Salmon with Avocado Salsa

July 14, 2008 | Filed Under Fruits, Avocados, Avocado Salsa, South American Cuisine, Salmon, Vinaigrettes/Salsas/Sauces, Fellow Bloggers, Laylita's Recipes, Seafood | 16 Comments

I love fish, especially salmon. Funny thing: I pronounce salmon, SAL-MON. I notice Americans pronounce it SA-MON. They leave the "L" out. So, when I say SAL-MON, they look at me funny. LOL! I’m not sure where or how I learned to prounonce it that way but that’s the way I do. Anyway, whichever way it’s pronounced, I love this fish and when I saw the recipe for Grilled Salmon with Avocado Salsa (and a photo of the meal — please, please check out Laylita’s enticing photo.), I couldn’t resist making it. Actually, the Avocado Salsa is what got me. I’d never before heard of anything like that to eat with salmon.

The next day after work, I bought the ingredients and set out to prepare it for dinner. Regular readers know by now that I love simple and easy-to-make meals. This is definitely one. Oh, and another enticing factor about this recipe is that it has cilantro. Hello!? Cilantro! Again, regular readers know that cilantro is my all-time favorite fresh herb. Yes!

Laylita’s recipe calls for the cilantro to be finely chopped. Umm… I didn’t really do that and I clearly added more than the 2 Tbs of cilantro. Next time, I’ll try to follow the recipe better.

The salsa was very easy to put together. No problem.

I got out my grill pan and prepared the salmon. My dogs LOVE fish and started getting excited about the aroma wafting from the kitchen.

Layla suggests the side dish of Ecuadorian rice and or Patacones (thick fried green plantains) to go with the Grilled Salmon with Avocado Salsa. A third thing regular readers know about me, by now, is that I HEART plantain. I didn’t have any plantain at home, so I ate my salmon and avocado salsa with rice. That was good enough. It was mouthwatering delicious. I loved my meal. I loved the Avocado salsa, which was new and different to me. It sort of had a tangy taste, which enhanced the grilled salmon that had been marinated in salt, coriander, cumin, paprika, onions and black pepper. Let me tell you, it tasted so good. I normally only use salt and black pepper when preparing my salmon, so these spices were an added treat to use on the salmon.

The next day, I had some leftover salmon and salsa, so I had it again for dinner. This time I’d bought some yellow (ripe) plantain (kelewele — see photo here), which I fried and ate with the fish. Oh, how I enjoyed my dinner even more. I can’t wait to make this dish again. Thank you, Laylita!

In the meantime, I’m scheduled to have surgery this week –Tuesday. The recovery time is a bit long, so I won’t be able to post any food posts for a while. Some awesome food bloggers have agreed to guest blog for me while I’m recuperating. I’m really excited to see what they have planned for us. I thank my guest bloggers in advance for their kindness. You won’t see me on your blogs for a while but I plan on stopping by as soon as I can.

So see you soon on the blogs and don’t forget to come back here next Tuesday to find out about our first guest blogger.

Best,

Paz

GRILLED SALMON WITH AVOCADO SALSA

Laylita’s Recipes

Ingredients (for 4 people):

2lbs salmon, cut into 4 pieces

1 tbs olive oil

1 tsp salt

1 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp paprika powder

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp black pepper

Avocado Salsa

1 avocado, peeled, seeded and sliced

1 small red onion, sliced

3 mild hot peppers, seeded and deveined, diced or sliced

Juice from 2 limes

3 tbs olive oil

2 tbs finely chopped cilantro

Salt to taste

Suggested sides — Rice (rice Ecuadorian style)and patacones (thick fried green plantains)

Preparation:

1. Mix the salt, coriander, cumin, paprika, onion and black pepper together, rub the salmon fillets with olive oil and this seasoning mix, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

2. Pre-heat the grill.

3. Combine the avocado, onion, hot peppers, cilantro, lime juice, olive oil and salt in a bowl and mix well, chill until ready to use.

4. Grill the salmon to desired donesness.

5. Serve the salmon topped with the avocado salsa, and with rice and patacones or thick green plantain chips on the side.

Fish Salad with Forbidden Rice

May 23, 2006 | Filed Under Avocados, Cereals/Grains, Beyond Salmon, Stripped Bass, Fruits, Asparagus, Seafood, Rice, Salad, Fellow Bloggers, Vegetables | Leave a Comment

Some time ago, Helen of Beyond Salmon came up with a well-rounded meal from the leftovers in her fridge, which enticed me to try.

The ingredients included fish, asparagus, onions, avocado and something I’d never heard of or tasted before – Forbidden Rice.

The name alone captured my interest. Also known as Black or Purple rice (obviously because of its color), an interesting myth surrounds Forbidden rice. It was considered “forbidden” because it was supposed to have mystical powers to advance long life. As a result, only emperors were allowed to eat this special rice.

Luckily, since times have changed, those of us not born under official emperor lineage are no longer forbidden to eat this rice. Anxious to taste it, I looked for it when I went shopping and to my surprise, found it at Citarella’s, one of the food markets where I do my shopping.

I prepared the meal according to Helen’s instructions and found the rice to have a unique taste. I would agree with Helen’s description of its taste – like wild rice with a deep, almost sweet flavor. The rice tasted unusual to me but it’s definitely something I’ll eat again in the future (Hey, I wanna live to the age of at least 106!).

I liked the entire meal combination of the asparagus and avocado (more foods I never liked until recently), with the fish. Like Helen, I used strip bass but as with all her fish recipes, she gives suggestions for fish substitutions. The dressing brought everything together. Delicious!

This may have been a meal from left over foods, but as I ate, I certainly felt like an Empress, in my own right, dining at a banquet table. Thanks, Helen!

Paz

Ed. Note: I’ve been asked where I got the legend information on Forbidden Rice (as well as the name). It’s printed on the back of the rice package I bought. The rice is imported by a company called Lotus Foods. According to Helen’s post, she found her information at the same place. This is what’s printed on my package:

Legend tells us that Forbidden Rice was once grown exclusively for the Emperors of China to enrich their health and ensure their longevity.

Today, this heirloom rice is prized for its fragrant aroma, nutty taste, eep purple color and nutritional value. It pairs beautifully with fish, meat and colorful vegetables. An everyday favorite — use steamed, in pilafs, stir-fries, and salads.

* Cooks in 30 minutes * Gluten free, wheat free * High in iron * A whole-grain rice * Non-GMO

Package of Forbidden Rice

CLICK ON PHOTO FOR LARGER IMAGE

Helen’s Fish Salad with Forbidden Rice

Fish substitutions:

any fin fish or shell fish leftovers. Hey, this can even work with chicken!

Serves 4

For the salad:

1 cup your favorite interesting rice (purple, wild, or brown)

2 tsp olive oil

1/2 Lb asparagus, trimmed, cut into 1 inch lengths

1 Lb leftover fish fillets, skin removed and flaked

1/4 cup thinly sliced red onion

2 avocados, peeled and sliced

1/4 cup chopped parsley, cilantro, mint, or basil

For the dressing:

2 Tbsp lemon or lime juice

2 anchovy fillets, mashed to a paste (optional)

3 Tbsp olive oil Salt and pepper to taste

Cook rice according to package instructions. Cool completely.
Set a large skillet over high heat. When preheated add oil and asparagus and cook stirring occasionally until tender, but not mushy, about 5 minutes. Take off heat and cool.
In a large bowl combine rice, asparagus, fish, onions, avocados, and herbs. The salad can be prepared up to this stage a day in advance, covered, and stored in the fridge.
Whisk all the dressing ingredients together and pour over salad. Season to taste with salt and pepper and mix well.