I adore Middle Eastern food! Wonderful fragrant spices, herbs, and huge amounts of flavour…
Tonight I was cooking falafel for my family, with pittas, houmous and salad… and of course I can’t eat pittas. I needed to make something up fast to go with my falafel, something warm and filling… I wanted something more than salad on this rainy (again!) evening. My husband and I used to have couscous and falafel, and as quinoa is similar in texture to couscous I decided this could be a winner. So I researched what kind of spices are used in Lebanese cooking and created this dish. And it was good! I hope you enjoy it too 🙂
Servings |
people
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- 1 tbsp odourless/mild coconut oil
- 1 onion cut into thin strips
- 1 cup white quinoa black quinoa takes longer to cook
- 2 cups cold water
- 1/2 tsp mixed spice
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp tomato puree
- 2 dates finely chopped
- 3 handfuls spinach leaves
Ingredients
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- Melt the coconut oil in a medium sized saucepan. Add the onion and fry for 5 minutes over a medium heat until it just starts to brown.
- Place your quinoa in a sieve and rinse with cold water for about 30 seconds.
- Add all of the ingredients except for the spinach leaves to the saucepan with the onions and bring to the boil. Simmer for 10 minutes with the lid on, stirring occasionally.
- Add the spinach leaves and check whether you need more water. If you have excess water leave the lid off at this point, or add a little more if it's too dry. Simmer for a further 2 minutes and it should be ready! Some quinoa varieties do take longer than others so if it's still too crunchy then add a little more water and simmer until it's just right.
Serve with falafel, houmous, salad, a squeeze of lemon... Or make this a main meal by adding tinned chickpeas and a tsp of cumin when you add the quinoa - enjoy an easy 1 pot dinner!
Goes well with my seed-free houmous.