Beetroot-Red Finger Tips

One of the most obvious changes between the old NZ-living me and the new Singapore-living me is in vibrant colour injection into my life.  Living in Singapore sometimes feels like I’ve tripped up into a giant paint swatch wheel and emerged dripping in colour.  Maybe it’s living in perma-summer climate – no one really feels like wearing black when it’s 32 deg C outside.  Maybe it’s all the fantastically coloured clothes adorning the shop windows all the way down Orchard Road.  Or maybe it’s a combination of both.  Either way colour is creeping back into my life and I love it.  A bright striped skirt, electric blue dangly earrings… bring it on (and sometimes all together!).

I also find colour is very much creeping into my food.  Asia has a vast array of the most wonderful ingredients, but my most recent colour excursion is with red – beetroot red to be more specific.  Beetroot red with pristine white feta and green onions.

The recipe came from a new cook book purchase (Ancient Grains for Modern Meals).  It’s the first time I’ve come across a recipe including sumac, and try as I might I couldn’t find it in my usual supermarkets in Singapore.  A quick Google suggested lemon juice/zest or tamarind, both of which I had, so off I went!  I all three (tamarind, lemon juice and zest) to the yoghurt sauce, and marinated the chicken (my addition) in spicy tamarind.

As for grating the beetroot, if you don’t want red-tipped fingers, wear gloves.  The red tint was gone by morning for me, but it doesn’t always look the best.

Beetroot and Quinoa Salad

Quinoa

1T extra virgin olive oil
1t whole cumin seeds
1C quinoa
1 3/4C water
3/4t fine sea salt
1/2 t sumac (optional)

Sumac Yoghurt Topping and To Finish

1C yoghurt
1clove garlic, minced
1/2 t sumac, for sprinkling, or 1t freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 3/4 C shredded raw beetroot (about 1 medium size)
1-2 T freshly squeezed lemon juice
1-2 pinches of cayenne pepper (optional)

Heat olive oil in med saucepan over med heat until shimmering. Add cumin seeds (they will sizzle) and cook, stirring, until seeds darken and become fragrant (~30 sec). Stir in quinoa and cook, stirring frequently, until hot to touch (~1 min). Add water, salt and sumac, and bring to boil. Decrease temp to maintain simmer, cover and cook until liquid absorbed (~15-20 min)

Meanwhile, make sumac yoghurt topping. Beat yoghurt and garlic in small bowl with fork until smooth. Sprinkle with sumac and set aside.

To finish, remove saucepan from heat. Stir in shredded beet, cover, steam for 3-5 min. Pan fry chicken while beetroot is steaming.  Stir 1T lemon juice and cayenne into quinoa then add chicken. Taste, adjust for salt and lemon juice. Add feta and pumpkin sees here if you want to.

Before yoghurt sauce

Serve with yoghurt topping and sprinkle with green onion.

With yoghurt sauce

Breakfast Quinoa

I love breakfast - I get up a bit earlier in the morning so I can sit on my little balcony with breakfast and a coffee and leisurely catch up on the news. Quite often I find that breakfast doesn't quite take me through to lunch time (around four hours) if I don't include enough protein. The simple poached egg is my usual go-to, but I'm always looking for alternatives.

My friend Soph (check out her blog here) suggested trying quinoa, so when I stumbled across this recipe in a book review I thought I'd try it out.

Quinoa and Sweet Spice Oatmeal

Serves 1 generously

Ingredients:

·         1/4 cup quinoa, well-rinsed

·         3/4 cup milk of your choice

·         3/4 cup water

·         2 teaspoons dried blueberries, cranberries, or raisins

·         1/3 teaspoon ground cinnamon

·         1/2 star anise (optional)

·         1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

·         1/2 teaspoon citrus zest

·         Sweetener to taste

·         1-2 Tablespoons pumpkin seeds (or sunflower)

Combine quinoa, milk, and water in a small pan. Bring to a boil, partially cover, and cook for 15 minutes. Add the dried fruit, spices, vanilla extract, and orange zest. Cook for another 15 minutes.

Once the quinoa is soft, adjust the consistency to your liking by evaporating excess liquid over high heat or adding a splash more water. Sweeten to taste and sprinkle with the pumpkin seeds.

If using soy milk cook quinoa in water for the first 20 minutes then add soy milk for the later stage.

My Notes:

Due to pantry insufficiency, I used prunes and mixed spice (instead of star anise and cinnamon) and left out the citrus all together.  

I didn't use any sweetener at all because I don't like my breakfasts too sweet, and I stirred some rolled oats in at the end to absorb the extra cooking liquid rather than drain it out (love oats).

I made enough for five breakfasts and I serve it with all bran, natural yoghurt and banana, and then sprinkle a few seeds and some LSA on top.

The Verdict:

I love it - the quinoa has a slightly nutty taste and chewy texture.  Next time I think I'll leave out the star anise and make sure I have some citrus handy.  Some honey drizzled on top would hit the spot for those with a sweet tooth.

Breakfast of champions