Quinoa with Roasted Squash, Poblano, Corn, Pepitas and Avocado

A few weeks ago I posted on facebook that I had a new favorite dish. Well here it is...It is Quinoa with roasted acorn squash, mild chili peppers, corn and pumpkin seeds topped with avocado and cilantro and it is marvelously delicious!!  It can be served cold as a salad, hot as a pilaf or room temperature. It does have a large number of ingredients but they come together pretty easily. Still it might be a good idea to double everything and have a little extra to make the time worthwhile and also because it is super good.

 

 

I couple of tips for this. First, I made this with fresh corn and made a broth using the corn cobs and veggie broth but you could easily skip this step and just use frozen corn. I don't think it will be a big change in the finished dish. 

Make clean up easier by using just one baking sheet to roast all the veggies and seeds-just put foil over it each time.

This recipe is great for a springboard so be confident in substituting similar items or skipping things you do not like. For example, you could use fresh or frozen corn. Or you could use sweet potatoes or kombucha pumpkins in place of the acorn squash. You could even try this dish with brown rice. You could skip an item or two. For example, if avocados are expensive, just don't use them.

Please let me know if this recipe is easy enough to follow, I would like to make it simpler if needed. And if you make it, comments are appreciated greatly! It lets me know what you think and if anyone is reading :-)

 

Quinoa with Roasted Squash, Poblano, Corn, Pepitas and Avocado

2-3 ears of corn or about 1 cup of frozen corn ( more or less as desired)

 Few TBSP oil for roasting all the veggies and seeds

 

2 cups veggie broth

1 cup quinoa, rainbow, plain or mixed, very thoroughly rinsed

Juice of 1 lime, about ¼ cup, to taste so may use more or less as desire

Splash of olive oil

1 tsp salt, (more when served  if needed

½ tsp adobe seasoning and ½ tsp Cajun spice or cumin- you might start with a little less if you don’t like spice  (if you don’t have these spices use anything you like with a bit of warmth to it)

1 poblano, Anaheim  or other mild  pepper

2/3 to ¾ cup pumpkin seeds(pepitas), raw

Small acorn squash ( or half of a larger one)

3 green onions, white and green parts sliced

½ cup cilantro, chopped, extra 2 TBSP to garnish top

1  small avocado, sprinkled with more lime juice, salt

1) If using fresh corn, begin by cutting kernels off the cob into a large bowl. Turn the cob around and then flip other end up to get all the kernels. Reserve kernels for roasting.

 If you have the time and would like to--Place the cobs in a large pan with the vegetable broth and cook on low for several hours to get corn broth flavor. Remove corn and strain broth, measuring to see if you have 2 cups. If not add water,This may be done a day or two ahead.

 

Note: if you are using frozen corn (or if you just want to) skip this step—this is just fine! Just use broth, no need to strain.

 

Pour the broth into rice cooker or back into pot if you prefer to cook quinoa on the stove.

2) Quinoa- Rinse quinoa several times to remove the bitter coating. You may want to let it soak for five minutes in a bowl of cold , swish it around several times then strain out water using a fine sieve.

Cook quinoa in rice cooker just as you would cook white rice or in covered pot according to directions or simmer about 15 to 20 minutes and drain and fluff.)   Place quinoa in a large bowl and sprinkle with lime juice to taste. Add olive oil, salt and spice.  

Turn oven on to broil-

3) Poblano or Anaheim  pepper- While quinoa is cooking, wash the Poblano or Anaheim pepper and place on large piece of foil under broiler, turning every few  minutes with tongs until all skin is charred and loose. ( This can be done over the flame of a gas stove or on the BBQ grill if desired.) Remove and wrap in foil to steam chili pepper. After about 15 minutes, open foil and wash off pepper, pulling off and discarding charred skin and stem with seeds and membranes. Wear gloves if you are sensitive and wash hands carefully afterwards—you don’t want to rub chili oil in your eye!! Coarsely chop pepper.

Then Preheat oven to 425

4) Corn--.  Cover baking pan in foil, if desired for easy clean up, and spread corn out on sheet and sprinkle with oil, salt and pepper. Place in hot oven-425. Use spatula to turn corn a few times.

After 15 minutes see if the corn is browning and getting firm. If it is, remove corn to a dish or bowl.

Lower heat to 375 ( but put acorn squash in immediately after removing corn)

5) Acorn Squash—While corn is roasting, slice clean acorn squash in half and remove seeds. Place a few Tablespoons of water in the pan and place squash cut side down, and bake for about 18 minutes (This step could be done well in microwave for 9 minutes). Cook just until starting to barely soften. The squash will continue cooking in a later step after you peel and cut it up. For now, remove squash from oven and place on cutting board to cool before next step. Okay, on to Pumpkin seeds!

6)Pumpkin seeds-- Remove squash from oven to cool while you place pumpkin seed in a baking dish with a bit of olive oil and salt perhaps a sprinkle of smoked paprika, onion or garlic powder.  Place in 375 degree oven for 10-15 minutes or until crispy and light.

Raise oven temp to 400 degrees

 

 

Acorn Squash—Once the squash is cool enough to touch, cut into slices lengthwise and cut/peel skin off. Chop into pieces of about 1”. Once you are done with the pumpkin seeds, place acorn squash back onto sheet with a bit of olive oil, sprinkle with brown sugar and dust with cayenne and cinnamon. Mix a bit then put into oven for about 25 -30 minutes, turning once or twice, until beginning to be caramelized and crunchy.

Chop cilantro, slice green onion.

 

 

 

 

Immediately after squash is done, add into the quinoa the chopped chili pepper, roasted corn, and half of the pumpkin seeds, chopped cilantro and green onions, saving the rest to garnish the top.

Slice avocados and sprinkle them generously with lime juice and a hint of salt. You can either mix in half the avocado and garnish with the other half or just mix it all in.

Plate salad and top with avocados, some of the roasted pumpkin seeds, green onion and cilantro OR top with these in the bowl.

This salad is great served room temperature with the roasted squash just out of the oven. It could be served hot or cold.

 

 

Brown and Wild Rice Salad with Miso Sesame Dressing

Like many people, I am looking for ways to add more vegetables and whole grains to my daily diet. Today I would like to share a recipe for Brown and Wild Rice Salad with Miso Sesame dressing. It is full of whole grained brown and wild rice and vegetable goodness such as carrots, bok choy and cucumber with nutritious tofu, sesame seeds and miso.

Now I realize some of the ingredients, perhaps the miso or wild rice, here may be a bit unusual or something you don’t keep in your pantry. One of the nice things about this recipe is that you can skip any number of items and make substitutions of things that are more to your liking.

I found the recipe for WILD RICE SALAD WITH MISO DRESSING on the blog  SPROUTED KITCHEN which describes itself as a tastier take on whole foods. It is full of wonderfully delicious recipes of nutrient dense whole foods. The beautiful photos make me hungry for good things. Go check out all the wonderful recipes on Sprouted Kitchen!

 I modified a few things in the recipe here and I imagine you might make a couple of changes yourself.  I added a bit more of everything but miso since I wanted to lower sodium a bit. In addition I used more vegetables and added brown rice along with the wild rice. Next time, I may use only the wild and brown rice blend.  I cooked the veggies a bit and even added the rice and miso sesame dressing to meld the flavors together. I served it hot the first time, more like a stir fry than a salad. I switched around a few ingredients in the dressings, too.

While this salad is delicately beautiful, it packs a nutritious punch, with nearly every ingredient adding significantly to the nutritional benefits. What are the nutritional benefits?

To start brown rice, a great source of fiber, and B vitamins. Brown rice also contains very high levels of manganese along with selenium, a trace mineral which may help fight cancer. Brown rice also contains many nutrients which may lower cholesterol and benefit cardiovascular health.  There are phytonutrients found in brown rice which may be even better for you than those found in fruits and vegetables, according to website- the world’s healthiest foods. (http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=128#healthbenefits )

Wild rice, which is a grass seed and not really rice, is high in fiber, protein, potassium, manganese, zinc, magnesium, phosphorus and a good blend of B vitamins.

Even little sesame seeds are a very good source of copper and manganese and a good source of  magnesium,  calcium, iron, phosphorus and zinc.  Edamame, green soy beans, are high in fiber, iron, and protein and full of good things like vitamin A and C . Edamame seems to promote good heart health.  And do I need to tell you all the good things in carrots?? You can get nearly half of your vitamin A requirement in a small serving.

Okay, we are not done yet! This yummy salad also has tofu. Why should you eat tofu? Well, calorie for calorie, it has more protein than ground beef or cheese yet is considerably lower in fat and has NO cholesterol, making it an excellent source of protein not only for vegetarians but for anyone wanting to limit fat or cholesterol. Tofu also contains calcium and iron.

This recipe is just so adaptable. I love how it can be served warm as well as chilled.  It is nice to have it warm the first time and then save the rest to be served cold as a salad. It is full of wonderfully nutritious and great tasting things plus if you make a big enough batch it will last several lunches.

Brown and Wild Rice Salad with Miso Sesame Dressing

1 cup wild and brown rice blend, I use Lundberg, cooked with wild rice or according to package

½ cup of wild rice, cooked according to package or together with brown rice blend

12-14 oz Extra firm Tofu, silky or regular, drained, pat dry and cut into small cubes

2-3 tsp coconut oil

2 -3 tsp. soy sauce

2-3 tsp  olive or canola oil

 1 cup thinly sliced carrots

1 cup+ thinly slice bok choy

1 cup cooked, shelled organic edamame

½ cucumber , quartered and  sliced

1-2 TBSP toasted  sesame seeds

      Sweet  Miso Sesame Dressing

2-3 TBSP white miso*

3 TBSP Rice Vinegar

3 TBSP honey

1 TBSP sesame oil

Juice of small Meyers lemon or orange

2 tsp ginger, crushed (bottled ginger paste is fine!)

1 tsp soy sauce, low sodium if watching sodium intake

3 TBSP canola Light olive or vegetable oil,

Garnish- All optional

3 green onions, sliced

¼ chopped cucumber

1 TBSP toasted sesame seed and 1 TBSP Black sesame seeds,

2 TBSP cilantro chopped

Cook the wild rice and the brown rice blend. You could cook each separately but I think it would be fine to cook the brown and wild rice blend with the extra wild rice added. I like to add just a little bit more water than called for and cook it a bit longer so wild rice is softer.

Next make the dressing.  *If you don’t have miso or prefer not to use it, that is fine. You could make this with just a sesame ginger dressing- Increase soy sauce And ginger to 1 TBSP add an extra tsp of sesame oil and an extra TBSP of veggie, olive or canola oil. Maybe throw in a tsp or two of toasted sesame seeds.

In a large shallow pan, add coconut oil and heat to medium high. Pat tofu dry with paper towel and then cut tofu  into small cubes. You could put light dusting of corn starch if you like. Add cut up tofu cubes. Cook till Brown, not turning too often. Add soy sauce. 

Remove tofu to bowl and add oil to pan. Stir fry carrots for a few minutes or two then add bok choy and cook for a few more minutes. Add rice and edamame. Stir fry for a minute or so.  Add as much of the dressing as you like. Let it cool a bit then put into bowl and mix with tofu, cucumber, 1 TBSP sesame seeds and blend gently. Add more or all of dressing to taste.

You may let it cool in fridge a bit or serve immediately. This salad makes awesome leftovers!