One pan Mexican Quinoa and Black Bean bowl

This is my new favourite dinner that I could eat every day for a month and not tire of.  You will desperately hope there will be enough for leftovers for lunch!  This recipe is full of veggies, black beans and quinoa so it delivers plenty of fibre and plant based protein which is a winner for preventing lifestyle diseases such as some cancers, cardiovascular disease and stroke plus it tastes amazing and will keep you full for ages.

This recipe was inspired by marin mama cooks but I've increased the veggies and beans a bit and "Australianised" the ingredients.  I hope you enjoy this as much as my family does.

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INGREDIENTS

• 1 tablespoon olive oil

• 2 cloves garlic, sliced

• 1 red chilli, half the seeds removed and sliced

• 1 cup well-rinsed and scrubbed quinoa

• 1 1/4 cups chicken or vegetable stock

• 2 rinsed and drained cans of black beans

• 1 can tinned diced tomatoes

• 1 medium zucchini diced

• 2 red capsicums, diced

• 1 tablespoon Mexican spice powder (I used Herbies but masterfoods do one too or use 1/2 tsp chilli, 1 tsp cumin, 1 tsp coriander)

• pinch of salt

• 1 avocado, halved, seeded, peeled and diced

• juice of one lime

• chopped fresh coriander leaves, greek yoghurt and shredded sharp cheese to serve

METHOD

Heat the olive oil in a large frypan over medium high heat.  Add the garlic and fresh chilli and cook for one minute stirring well.

Add in the chicken stock, quinoa, black beans, tinned tomatoes, zucchini, capsicum, salt, and spices.  

Stir well, then bring to the boil.  Reduce heat, cover and leave to simmer for 20 -25 minutes until cooked.

Before serving stir through the lime juice and chopped coriander.  Serve with a sprinkle of cheese and a dollop of greek yoghurt.

Serves 6

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Quinoa Tabouli

Did you know that quinoa is a complete protein which means it contains all the essential amino acids?  It's  also a rich source of B vitamins, a good source of carbohydrates and easy to digest.  For these reasons  it is being considered a possible crop in NASA's Controlled Ecological Life Support System for long-duration human occupied space flights! If you've had a quinoa fail before it might be because you haven't washed off the bitter tasting saponins on the outside of the quinoa.  Lightly rubbing the quinoa under running water gets rid of the saponins and improves the flavour.

With the lovely warm weather we've been enjoying a tabouli salad most nights.  I cook a cup of quinoa and use about 2/3 in the salad and then use the leftover quinoa for quick salads for lunch.

I like to serve the salad for dinner with some seared lamb loin fillets marinated in a little lemon and olive oil, perhaps a touch of sumac or smoked paprika. For a portable lunch the next day the salad is delicious with some feta or almonds.

Ingredients

• 1 cup of quinoa
• 1.75 cups of water
• pinch of salt
• generous handful of parsley, leaves picked, roughly chopped
• generous handful of mint, leaves picked, roughly chopped
• two big handfuls of baby spinach
• 4 spring onions, white part only, chopped
• 2 lebanese cucumbers, halved lengthways and chopped
• 250g cherry tomatoes, cut in half
• Seeds from half a pomegranate (optional)
• 1/4 cup (60ml) extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon pomegranate molasses (optional, if you don't have it omit, do not substitute!)

METHOD

1. Soak the quinoa for 15 minutes in plenty of water. Drain in a fine wire colander and gently rub the seeds to remove any saponins.
2. Combine the quinoa with 2 cups of water and a pinch of salt.
3. Bring to the boil and then reduce heat to a simmer for 15 minutes, partly covered. The quinoa is cooked when the grain starts to spiral.
4. Drain any remaining water.
5. Leave in the saucepan with a clean tea towel or paper towel between the saucepan and the lid for 5 minutes or so. You'll need about 2/3 of the cooked quinoa for the tabouli, the rest will keep in the fridge for 48 hours.
6. Whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice and a pinch of black pepper. Add half of the dressing to the quinoa.
7. Put spinach, herbs, spring onion, tomatoes and cucumber in a salad bowl. Add the quinoa. Toss and add remaining dressing. Sprinkle with pomegranate seeds to serve.

Serves 4

Simon's baked beans

Having a rustle around in the freezer I found the ham bone I had saved from Christmas.  I asked my husband to make his amazing baked beans and he also wrote down the recipe as we can never quite remember how he makes them.  These make a delicious breakfast, lunch or easy dinner.  You can cook an egg in the bean mixture as well.  If you don't have a frozen ham bone left over from Christmas then you can get a ham hock from the butcher or make a vegetarian version. A diet rich in legumes such as cannellini beans  is associated with lowered blood sugar and reduced harmful LDL cholesterol.   They’ve been linked to reduced risk for heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and colon and other cancers, as well as improved weight control.  Plus my kids love eating them!

Ingredients

• 6 garlic cloves, crushed
• 2 red onions roughly chopped.
• Splash of olive oil
• Ham bone (frozen from after Christmas) or ham hock.
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 x 400gm tin of crushed tomatoes
• 3 tbsp of maple syrup
• 2 tbsp of Worcestershire Sauce
• 1 tsp of smokey paprika
• 1 tsp of dried chilli flakes (this gives it just a hint of heat but up to you)
• 1 tsp of dry mustard powder
• 4 x 400gm tins of Cannellini Beans (drained and rinse beans from 3 of the tins, but use liquid and beans from 4th)

METHOD

1. Preheat oven to 160 deg C.
2. Fry up garlic, onions and oil over a medium to high heat (choose a big pot that is also able to go in oven). Whack in the ham bone. Pour in 2 tins of tomatoes and the bay leaves. Then add the maple syrup, Worcestershire sauce, and spices.
3. Drain the beans in a sieve and rinse off the briney liquid from 3 of the tins, but chuck liquid and beans from the 4th. Give it all a stir.
4. Check seasoning but probably could do with a good pinch of salt and pepper.
5. Cover and put the pot in the oven for a 1 1/2 hrs.
6. I like to cook it the beans long enough so that the meat has fallen off the ham bone but not so long the dish becomes too dry. I switch off oven and just leave the pot in until I'm ready to serve.
7. Dish it up with crusty bread and green salad

You can also cook this in the slow cooker on low for 4 hours.  

Serves 8