Quinoa with peas and potatoes

Most people think of post-festivity diet as a sacrifice. Probably most people do eat too much during Christmas period. And while I do indulge in few things I particularly like, and eat mostly in this period of the year, I try, however, to be moderate when it comes to quantities of food I eat. I probably close my eyes in front of a real Neapolitan pizza (on the other hand I don't get to eat it all year round) or a sfogliatella or two, a babà... you can't say no to everything after all, and it's a price to pay when you spend holidays where food is great :)))
But in the same way I look forward to going back home, getting back to my ordinary routine and preparing something deliciously healthy, simple but nutricious.
And since me and my little boy are always alone at lunch time on weekdays, it is the best occasion to eat something we both love: quinoa and peas. The rest of the family would just freak in front of a plate like this, but that cute little boy will steal the little green balls from my plate once he finishes his.
If you are thinking of a meatless meal, this dish will certainly satisfy your needs. But it will work fine as a side dish as well.


Quinoa with peas and potatoes

* 200 g quinoa
* 450 g peas (fresh or frozen)
* 2 medium sized potatoes
* 2 scallions/green onions
* 3 bay leaves
* oregano
* vegetable stock
* extra virgin olive oil
* salt
* a small piece of fresh ginger root

Peel and cut the potatoes into cubes. Put them into a pot with 1 liter cold water and bay leaves. Bring to a boil and cook for 5-10 minutes (depending on the size of the cubes, don't let them overcook, however).
Remove the potatoes with a slotted spoon and set aside.
Put the quinoa in 400 ml of the water that the potatoes were cooked in. Bring to a boil and cook over low heat until all the liquid has been absorbed. Set aside for 10 minutes, then transfer the quinoa on a large plate and fluff it with a fork.
Chop the scallions (both the white part and the green leaves), and cook them in a skillet with 3-4 TBspoons of olive oil over low heat, until soft, about 5 minutes.
Add the peas to the skillet, season with a little salt and cook them covered for 10 minutes, adding a little hot water or vegetable stock.
Add the quinoa and the potatoes, cook for 5 more minutes.
Towards the end, add the dried oregano and a little finely grated ginger root.

* Quinoa can substituted with millet, amaranth or buckweat (all three are gluten-free like quinoa)

Quinoa con piselli e patate

* 200 g quinoa
* 450 g di piselli (freschi o surgelati)
* 2 patate medie
* 2 cipollotti
* 3 foglie di alloro 
* origano secco
* brodo vegetale
* olio extra vergine d'oliva
* sale
* un pezzettino di radice di zenzero

Pelate le patate e tagliatele a dadini. Mettetele a cuocere con 1 litro di acqua fredda e le foglie di alloro, 5-10 minuti dal momento che l'acqua inizia a bollire.
Scolate le patate conservando circa 400 ml di acqua di cottura.
Aggiungete la quinoa nell'acqua di cottura di patate che avete conservato a mettete a cuocere sul fuoco basso finché tutto il liquido non sarà assorbito. Spegnete il fuoco e lasciate riposare la quinoa nell pentolino coperto per una decina di minuti. Trasferitela poi su un piatto e sgranatela con una forchetta.
Sminuzzate i cipollotti (sia la parte bianca che le foglie verdi) e soffriggeteli sul fuoco basso con 3-4 cucchiai di olio EVO, per circa 5 minuti.
Unite i piselli, salate e lasciate cuocere coperto per 10 minuti, aggiungendo un po' di acqua calda o brodo vegetale. Aggiungete anche le patate precedentemente lessate e la quinoa, mescolate e lasciate insaporire il tutto per altri 5 minuti.
Verso la fine aggiungete l'origano e un po' di radice di zenzero grattugiata.

*per variare, la quinoa si può sostituire con il miglio, amaranto o grano saraceno.

Quinoa s graškom i krumpirom


* 200 g quinoe
* 450 g graška (svježeg ili smrznutog)
* 2 krumpira
* 2 mlada luka
* 3 lista lovora
* origano
* povrtni temeljac
* maslinovo ulje
* sol
* korijen đumbira

Ogulite krumpir, narežite ga na kockice i stavite kuhati u 1 litri vode s listovima lovora, 5-10 minuta od trenutka kad voda provrije (ovisno o veličini kockica).
Šupljikavom žlicom izvadite krumpir.
Sačuvajte 400 ml vode u kojoj se kuhao.
Dodajte u vodu koju ste sačuvali quinou i kuhajte je 20-ak minuta na tihoj do srednje jakoj vatri, pokriveno, dok ne upije svu tekućinu.
Maknite s vatre i ostavite da odmara pokriveno 10 minuta, a zatim istresite quinou na široki tanjur i rastresite vilicom.
Narežite mladi luk (i bijeli i zeleni dio) pa ga popržite na laganoj vatri s 3-4 žlice ulja na tihoj do srednje jakoj vatri, oko 5 minuta.
Dodajte grašak, posolite, pokrijte i kuhajte 10 minuta, dodajući po potrebi malo vode ili povrtnog temeljca.
Dodajte grašku krumpir i quinou pa kuhajte još 5 minuta sve skupa.
Na samom kraju dodajte suhi origano i malo naribanog korijena đumbira.

* umjesto quinoe/ ili za promjenu/ možete upotrijebit amarant, proso ili heljdu