FOOD:RECENTLY, I WENT to a dinner party that was hosted by a proper, committed, bona fide health-fiend. Now while I pride myself on being a reasonably healthy individual, I don't think I could endure a long-term diet of no wheat, dairy or sugar. But this gal is living proof that you are what you eat. She is all glowing, shining bounce which, I guess, makes me more than a little toxic.
But back to the food. While I’m down with good-for-you grub, if you can’t cheat by adding a knob of butter here or there, you have to work damned hard to make really healthy food both rich and satisfying. In fairness to the lady, she made some stonking good grub and so has been redeemed in my eyes for being such a good cook, despite being such a health-Nazi. She very kindly passed on her recipes for me to exploit, which is always a sign of true foodie generosity. There is nothing worse than someone being guarded about a good recipe, so thank you, Susan-Jane.
I first came across quinoa years ago on a yoga week of hell with my sister. At every meal-time the yoga instructors served mounds of gloopy quinoa salad, waxing lyrical about all its benefits. I kept thinking they could fertilise fields or make tyres out of it, instead of inflicting it on humans. Consequently, I have not been able to face it since and even the pronunciation of it (keen-wah) makes me violent. That is, until Ms Murray made a fantastic curried quinoa salad that I have been cooking religiously once a week, ever since.
It’s well worth trying to ram this into your weekly diet and you can find it in health stores as well as the odd supermarket. I bought a red organic version of it, that was okay, but bordering on too Birkenstock-ish, so I would recommend starting with the paler, more golden varieties. Apparently it’s a seed, rather than a grain, full of essential amino acids and nutrients including iron and manganese. Bottom line is, eat quinoa and you’ll be gorgeous and healthy. It’s a great source of protein for vegans too, so eat up.
You cook quinoa in two parts boiling water to one part quinoa. Once the water has boiled off, cover with a lid and let it steam for another five minutes or so. The seeds will look like they have burst open, ever so slightly and it will still have some crunch when you taste it. Drain and eat hot or let it cool down fully and use as you would for making a light pasta salad, potato salad or couscous type salad. So, no mayonnaises, but rather olive oils, vinaigrettes, fresh squeezes of lemon, lime or orange juice, lots of herbs, seasoning and that’s about it.
The other recipe for parsnip crisps is definitely questionable regarding seasonality, but I still have a mound of parsnips in my fridge and this recipe was a surprising success. I didn’t think they’d turn out well as they are baked, rather than fried, but they were really tasty and cute to serve with a drink or as a delicious dinner on their own with a big green salad.
Quinoa and pomegranate salad
(serves two-three)
Buy both the Marigold stock and quinoa in health food stores or good food shops.
250g quinoa
1 tsp Marigold stock powder
1 tbsp curry powder
2 tsp turmeric
50g raisins
3 cloves garlic, crushed
zest of 1 lemon
good glug of olive oil
2 pomegranates or 100g seeds
2 tbsp pine nuts
bunch of coriander, roughly chopped
Cook quinoa in twice as much liquid. Add a good teaspoon of Marigold, the curry powder and turmeric. Simmer for 10 minutes until most of the water has evaporated. Add the raisins. Take off the heat. Partially cover with a lid and let it steam for another five to 10 minutes.
Stir in the crushed garlic and lemon zest. When cooled down slightly, add the rest of the ingredients. Serve warm or cold as a salad.
Roast Parmesan parsnips
(serves six as a side order/nibble)
Olive oil
4-5 big parsnips
Salt and pepper
50g flour
100g grated Parmesan
100g breadcrumbs
2 eggs, beaten
Pre-heat an oven to 190 degrees/gas five. Oil a baking sheet and put it in the oven to get it really hot. Peel the parsnips and cut into wedges. You should end up with about 550g-600g prepped parsnips after peeling and trimming. Cook the wedges in boiling water for five minutes then drain and put back in the saucepan with a tea towel over them, to help them dry out. You can leave them on a very low flame, but keep an eye on them. You just want them to dry out as much as possible. Season them well with plenty of salt and pepper.
Season the flour well and pour onto a plate. Mix the Parmesan with the breadcrumbs and leave on a second plate and have your beaten eggs ready in a shallow bowl. When the parsnips are cool enough to handle, dip into the flour, then egg, then Parmesan crumb. Do this quickly and put them onto a clean plate. When they are all done, put them onto your hot baking sheet for about 35 minutes until golden brown all over. You may want to turn them over halfway during cooking. Season well and serve. They’re good with chilli jam or garlicky mayonnaise. dkemp@irishtimes.com
