Tackling Bittman Recipe Hop Volume 4

My goodness a month rolls around quickly!  In case you hadn't noticed today is the first Thursday of the month, and that means it's Tackling Bittman time again.  If you've been following this blog for a while then you know that I am a big fan of Mark Bittman's, and you will probably have stumbled across several of the dishes I posted while I Heart Cooking Clubs was cooking with Bittman.  In order to keep that passion alive I've joined in with my friend Alex at A Moderate Life (founder), Christy at Frugality and Crunchiness with Christy, Dr Laura at Who is Laura?,  Chaya at My Sweet and Savoury and Pam at Sidewalk Shoes to co-host the monthly Tackling Bittman Recipe Hop.  We're "hopping" the first Thursday of every month, and posting up a linky for you to join in, which will be open for one week.

So, go drag your copy of How to Cook Everything down off the shelves, and get cooking.  You may of course use any other Mark Bittman book that you can lay your hands on, or even the How to Cook Everything iPhone Application, which I highly recommend.  Other places to source Mark Bittman recipes are here on the How to Cook Everything website and here on the Mark Bittman website.  Post your dish, and then join in the "hop" by linking your post here (or at any one of the other hosts - your link will automatically show up on all six host sites), following the instructions below.  You could of course link up one of your previous posts - it may be an old post to you, but it could well be new to our audience.  I do hope you'll join us.

Now for the necessary part - the rules. They are pretty simple, especially if you are familiar with hops.

Rules for linking:

Please use your best blog hop etiquette when linking. The rules are in place to help everyone have the best blog hop experience possible.

If you are new to a blog carnival, or blog hop, it is very easy to learn how to join in the fun! Simply go to the current blog post for the hop and scroll down to the bottom where you will see a small box that will say, "You're next" or "Your link here". When you click on that link, you will be asked to enter the URL of your recipe or article.

• Please link to your article only and not directly to your blog front page. The linky may ask you to upload a photograph from your computer, then you click next and leave a comment on the blog host's post.

• We also ask that you place a link back to the blog host at the bottom of your post - this means adding in the URL of the blog hop post, which you can copy from your browser address bar.  You could also choose to place a blog badge into your post, which is explained below. Easy peasy, lemon squeezy!

• At least one host will visit each link before the next linky period opens, because this is personal for us … we want you to know that we appreciate that you’ve taken the time to create a post, add a link back to the hop, and add your link!  We’ll be sure to acknowledge this with a comment and a tweet on Twitter (using hashtag #bittyhop).

• One link per blog monthly on the Tackling Bittman Recipe Hop, please.

• Must include a link back to one/any of the host sites (through worded link or badge) in your actual post, not just on your sidebar … although we love having links on your page as well (this benefits all of us). You will be sent a gentle reminder if no link is added to your post, we understand that sometimes people forget … but if it becomes a regular occurrence, (even though we don’t like to do it) your post may be removed.  It’s just not fair to those who do take the time and show the grace to link back.

• Linky will stay open from 5:00 AM the first Thursday of Every Month, to 11:59 pm the following Thursday (EST).

If you would like to use a badge, please copy the code in the box beneath the badge below and paste that into your post, and also into your sidebar if you wish:

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Lets's get cooking and thanks for joining in!
Sue, Alex, Christy, DrLaura, Chaya and Pam

I also realised that I have been completely remiss in letting you know who won the How to Cook Everything iPhone application that I was giving away last month.  The winner was the lovely Vanille at AtDownUnder - Vanille is beyond talented and has, hands-down, easily one of the most beautiful blogs in the blogosphere.  Do go and visit her - you won't be disappointed.

Chicken & Chorizo Paella

You might recall me mentioning sometime ago the cooking class I attended in Barcelona last year, and my accompanying promise to share with you the recipe for the Seafood Paella that we made.  This is not that recipe.

I am always very reticent about sharing "traditional" recipes from cultures other than my own, since you're almost guaranteed to get it wrong, and at this very moment there are probably dozens of Spaniards throwing up their hands in horror at my audaciousness in calling this a paella.  (Actually, I just did a quick check on Stat Counter and right at this moment there is no-one visiting from Spain, so perhaps I'll get away with it.)

By and large the technique or method involved in this doesn't seem to depart too much from the version we made at that Barcelona cooking class (which I do still promise to share with you at some stage), but I don't know how likely you would be to find this combination of ingredients for example in a genuine paella.

This recipe was adapted from one by Thomasina Mier's, for which I can no longer seem to find the original link.  Thomasina's original version had lots of seafood, which I swapped out for the chorizo;  I also left out onions, while the olives and smokey paprika were my own additions.

This dish may be lacking a little in authenticity (and I trust you'll forgive me for that), and it doesn't even look too beautiful, but it more than makes up for its shortcomings with loads of great flavour.  This is a great dish for a family meal or to feed a crowd - quantities could easily be doubled to feed more people.  I hope you'll give this a try - I'm sure you won't be disappointed.

Chicken & Chorizo Paella Recipe

Adapted from a recipe by Thomasina Miers

Serves 4

Click here for a printable copy of this recipe

2-3 tablespoons olive oil

2 cups cooked chicken, shredded

approx 120g chorizo sausage

1 fennel bulb

1/2 red pepper

1/2 yellow pepper

small bunch fresh thyme

2 cloves garlic

6 artichoke hearts, bottled (I use roasted)

2 tomatoes

generous handful black olives

2 teaspoons smoked paprika

pinch saffron

250g Calasparra rice

500ml chicken stock

75ml white wine

flaky sea salt

freshly ground black pepper

Put saffron strands in a small cup of hot water, and leave to infuse while you prepare the other ingredients.

First the chorizo - I like to remove the casing, and then break up into bite-sized pieces.  That said, if that seems like a bit too much trouble, just cut the sausage into slices.

Next the fennel - remove the base, any tougher outer "leaves" and tops (don't throw these away - I put them in a bag in the freezer and pull them out later for making soup or stock), then cut the bulb into pieces.

Cut the peppers into similar sized pieces, and cut the tomatoes into 1/8ths.

Cut the artichokes into 1/4s.  Chop the garlic finely.  If you can be bothered, remove the thyme leaves from the stalks - though I generally just drop the whole stems in - during the cooking the leaves tend to come away from the stems and then the stems can simply be discarded before serving.

Add about 1 tablespoon olive oil, along with the chorizo sausage, to a large skillet, then place the pan over high heat and begin to heat the chorizo, which will render a lot of its own fat in the process.

Add a little more oil to the pan, and add the fennel, peppers, and thyme to the pan.  Sautee until the vegetables are just starting to caramelise - 5-10 minutes.

Add another good dash of oil to the pan, and add in the tomatoes, garlic, olives and artichokes, a sprinkling of flaky sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Cook for a couple of minutes, then add the rice and sprinkle over the paprika.  Stir constantly for 2-3 minutes to coat the rice well with the oil and paprika.  Add the chicken and stir again.

Add the saffron and its soaking water, the white wine, and chicken stock. Stir to make sure all the ingredients are evenly distributed around the pan, and then no more stirring.

Bring to the boil and cook over high heat for about 10 minutes until the rice has started to swell.  Turn the heat down to low and simmer for another 10 minutes, until the rice has absorbed most of the liquid.

Remove from the heat, cover and allow to rest for 5-10 minutes before serving.  I like to serve this with a fresh, crispy, green salad.

This post is a contribution to Make it with ..... Mondays challenge paprika - the linky is still open until Monday 7 February, so keep your paprika posts coming, and don't forget to check out this week's special ingredient which is Nutella.

I'm also sharing this post at Food on Friday hosted by Carole at Carole's Chatter.

Grilled Pineapple with Nutella

Our theme this week at I Heart Cooking Clubs, where we continue to cook with Giada de Laurentiis, is Pot Luck.  Our monthly Pot Luck always seems to be one of the favourite themes amongst group members, and I guess I'm no exception.  If you've been around here over the last week or two you will have noticed that I've been dishing up plenty of the healthy stuff lately, so I felt a little bit of indulgence was called for.  My mind immediately turned, of course, to one of Giada's favourite ingredients - chocolate, and more specifically Nutella.  Since Nutella is also our special ingredient this week at Make it with ..... Mondays, it seemed like a natural choice.

At the same time, I didn't want to go all-out decadence here, so this recipe for Grilled Pineapple with Nutella seemed like the perfect choice.  With fresh fruit, nuts, and fresh cream, I think there is more than enough good stuff going on in here to offset any potential indulgence in the Nutella and creme fraiche (Giada uses mascarpone, but I subbed creme fraiche instead).  Besides, I'm pretty sure that Nutella and creme fraiche are actually health foods - okay, look don't all write to me setting the record straight, I know they're not really health foods, but permit me the fantasy.

Grilled Pineapple with Nutella Recipe

Adapted from recipe by Giada de Laurentiis

Makes 2 generous servings

Click here for a printable copy of this recipe

4 slices fresh pineapple, cut about 1.5 cm (1/2 in) thick, skin removed

2 heaped tablespoons creme fraiche

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 heaped tablespoons Nutella

2 tablespoons fresh cream

neutral-flavoured vegetable oil

large handful hazelnuts, toasted and coarsely chopped

Heat a ridged grill pan over heat.  Use the vegetable oil to lightly grease the pan, and then grill the pineapple slices until beginning to soften and grill marks appear - about 4 minutes each side.

Meanwhile, put the creme fraiche into a small bowl, add the vanilla, mix together and set aside.

Put the Nutella and cream into another small bowl, and mix together.  Microwave on high for 60-80 seconds, stirring every 20 seconds, until well-blended, smooth and pourable.

Arrange the pineapple slices on a serving platter, and drizzle with the warm chocolate sauce.  Dollop around some of the creme fraiche mixture and sprinkle the toasted hazelnuts over the top.

Now you might look at this and imagine tooth-tingling sweetness and richness - I know I certainly did.  However, that was certainly not the case.  There is more than enough piquancy in the creme fraiche to cut through any sweetness from the deliciously "fudgy" Nutella sauce.  The toasty hazelnut pieces also add a layer of texture, and in their own way offset some sweetness too.  Overall, after eating this (and yes, just in case you're interested, I did eat that whole serving that you can see in the picture) was not of having eaten a big, rich, sweet dessert and that weighed down feeling that goes with it.  It was definitely a feeling of having eaten a fresh fruit dessert that had been "tarted up" a little.

This would make a spectacular dessert to serve for a crowd - served on a large platter, it would look stunning, and I guarantee there would be no left-overs.  This one is definitely on my list the next time I need to serve dessert for company.

Interested in getting to know Giada a bit better?  Then do go and visit my friends at I Heart Cooking Clubs and see what they've all been cooking up ....

.... or check out Giada's Kitchen and many of her other titles, available from Amazon, Book Depository UK and Fishpond NZ

       

This post is a contribution to Make it with ... Mondays challenge Nutella - the linky will be open until Monday 14 February, so start those Nutella posts coming, and don't forget to keep your paprika posts coming too - the paprika linky is open here and will remain open until Monday 7 February.

This post is also linked to the Decidedly Healthy or Horribly Decadent Blog Hop.

Make it with ..... Mondays # 5

Thanks for stopping by and joining me for another "Make it with ..... Mondays" challenge.

Today we closed the door on challenge quinoa, and what an exciting challenge it was.  So many of you really dug deep for this - going way out of your comfort zone.  Many of you said you had never used this ingredient before, or had tried it once before and not liked it.  But you all overlooked your reticence and gave it another try.  I feel really humbled that you made the effort and that you shared those efforts here.  For me, it was certainly an ingredient I'd used once or twice before, but it had never really found its way into regular use in my culinary repertoire.  After the last week that has certainly changed - after trying out a couple of dishes, I was really inspired not just by the deliciousness of this ingredient, but also it's versatility.  I know that I will be using it much more often now, experiementing with lots of different ways to use it, and with all of it's fantastic health benefits, I'm going to be a whole lot better off for it.

A reminder also, that challenge paprika is still open for another week (closing midday Monday 7 February - NZ time).  So keep those paprika recipes coming - remember that you can link up as many posts as you like (as long as paprika is one of the ingredients), and linking up old posts is fine too.  There have been some great posts submitted already, and over this week I will be sharing with you my Chicken & Chorizo Paella, which is a real favourite around here.  I'm also  going to share with you Bittman's "Simplest & Best Shrimp Dish", because this Thursday also happens to be time for Tackling Bittman again - so drag out your favourite Bittman books and recipes, get cooking and come back here on Thursday to link up - the linky will be open for one week.

Now it's time to turn our attention to this week's special ingredient .....

Nutella

Nutella is a "chocolate" hazelnut spread, developed in its earliest form in the mid-1940s by patissier Pietro Ferrero.  He was the founder of the Ferrero company, which registered the Nutella brand in 1963.  The deliciously sweet hazelnut spread is now sold in over 75 countries around the world.

Nutella is a modified form of gianduja, which is normally a mixture of 50% almond or hazelnut paste and 50% chocolate.  Because Nutella does not meet minimum cocoa solids concentration, in many countries it cannot be labelled as "chocolate".  It's main ingredients are sugar, vegetable oils, hazelnut, cocoa solids and skimmed milk.  With more than 50% of its calories coming from fat, and more than 40% from sugar, I think it would probably be fair to say that it's nutritional benefits are minimal.  On the other hand the psychological benefits are enormous.  Don't believe me - go scoop out a spoonful right now, and devour directly from the spoon - now try telling me you don't feel better.

So now it's time to get cooking - put your thinking cap on, get creative, and see what you can come up with.  I know many of you have been eagerly awaiting this ingredient and I'm sure there are many "unexpected" ways in which you could use this ingredient.  If, however, using it in unexpected ways means spreading it on someone else's body parts and then licking it off - perhaps you could just keep that to yourself - we don't need you sharing quite that much information round here.   Titilating though that may be, we just don't want weird, creepy people landing up here from some crazy Google search.  Can't wait to see what you come up with.

There are really only two rules for participating in this event:

1. Your post must feature this week's ingredient.  If, however, over time you have found a good substitute when you come across this ingredient in recipes (maybe because you don't like it, or it's not readily available in your area, or someone in your family has an allergy to it, or you use a vegan or gluten-free substitute), then, please tell us about it, show us what you use instead and explain to us why, and then of course link up - this is after all a learning experience and it's good to know about alternatives.
2. Your blog post must link back to this post and mention "Make it with ..... Mondays"

That's it - create your post (or feel free to link up an old post if you have one that uses this week's ingredient);  multiple posts are welcome;  then scroll down to the bottom of this page where you will see a small box that says "You are next, click here to enter". Click on that link, and follow the simple instructions - please link directly to your post, not just your blog home page.

Want to join in but don't have a blog?  No problem - just email me your thoughts, ideas and recipes, and I'll include them in a round-up the following week.  To email me just go to the "Contact Me" button on my sidebar.

If you would like to use a badge in your post, simply copy the code in the box beneath the badge below and paste it into your post.  Feel free to also use it in your sidebar if you wish.

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Please link your posts for "Make it with ..... Mondays" challenge Nutella using the linky at the bottom of this page.  The linky will be open until 11.59am Monday 14 February (NZT).

Please go to this page to link your posts for "Make it with ..... Mondays" challenge paprika.  The linky will be open until 11.59am Monday 31 January (NZT).

Last of all, before you get linking, here is a preview of what's coming up over the next 4 weeks:

Week commencing Monday 7 February - we're making it with almonds
Week commencing Monday 14 February - we're making it with polenta
Week commencing Monday 21 February - we're making it with coffee
Week commencing Monday 28 February - we're making it with tamarind

Marsala Chicken - Cooking Italy 15

I'll be the first to admit that I've been a bit lax in keeping up with my assignments for the Cooking Italy group, hosted by the lovely Angela at Spinach Tiger, where we are learning to cook classic Italian dishes from Marcella Hazan's "Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking".  However, we have a new schedule out and it was high time for me to get back into the swing of things.

Our first assignment for the year was Veal Marsala, and since Marsala just happens to be one of my favourite ingredients I was eager to give this one a try.  Veal was not available at my butcher when I checked, which actually I was kind of relieved about since from an ethical point of view I do have some reservations about eating veal.  It has also pretty much been my experience that when veal is available, you almost need a small mortgage in order to pay for it.  We had been told however that we could substitute chicken for the assignment, and that is exactly what I did.  Double score - no ethical dilemna over free-range organic chicken and doubtless a considerable cost saving as well.  I mentioned in discussions with the group that I also thought this dish would be great made with pork chops, and I can't wait to try that - one of our group, Glennis at Cantbelieveweate, did just that and found that the Marsala sauce was indeed a great match for the pork chops - you can check out her post here.

This dish could not possibly be simpler, and was the perfect "dinner in 15 minutes" dish.  In actual fact, I chose to serve this with some little potatoes roasted with olive oil and rosemary, so my dinner was a little longer getting to the table, but you could serve this just with a simple salad and you would indeed have dinner in 15 minutes.  Despite being one of the most effortless meals you will ever create, the deliciousness is way out of all proportion to the minimal effort that goes in - which just goes to prove once again that when you put together a few simple, but great ingredients in just exactly the right way, you really don't have to do much to them to deliver greatness.  The simplicity of this dish makes it great for a mid-week family meal, of course, but it is also easily elegant enough to serve for company and you won't be neglecting your guests while you spend half the night in the kitchen.

Marsala Chicken Recipe

Adapted from Marcella Hazan's

"Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking"

Serves 2

Click here for a printable copy of this recipe

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon butter

2x free-range organic chicken breasts

flour

flaky sea salt

freshly ground black pepper

1/4 cup Marsala wine (* see note below)

First of all place chicken breasts (one at a time) into a large plastic bag, or between two sheets of Gladwrap or parchment paper, and pound out using a rolling pin (or other heavy object) until the chicken breasts are about 1cm (not quite 1/2 inch) thick.

Set a skillet over medium-high heat and add the oil and half of the butter.

While the fat is heating, spread some flour out onto a plate and, as soon as the fat is hot, coat both sides of the chicken in the flour, shake off any excess and add carefully to the pan.  (Note:  don't pre-flour your meat - dredge it just immediately before it goes into the pan, otherwise the flour will become all gloopy).

Brown the chicken breasts well on both sides and as soon as they are cooked through, remove them to a warm plate and sprinkle with flaky sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Turn the heat up to high, add in the Marsala, scraping the bottom of the pan as it bubbles away to loosen any "browning bits".  Add the remainder of the butter, and any juices that have emerged from the chicken on the plate, and stir until the juices in the pan are no longer runny and have become sauce-like in density.  Turn the heat down to low, return the chicken to the pan, and turn them over in the sauce a couple of times to coat them well with the sauce.

Turn the chicken and all the sauce out onto a warm serving dish and serve at once.

* Note:  Marcella's recipe calls for using dry Marsala.  It is my understanding that Marsala comes in three levels of sweetness - secco (dry), semisecco (semi-dry or I guess semi-sweet, depending on your point of view), and sweet.  I used semisecco, because that is what I had and I certainly didn't find it too sweet. 

Do visit my Cooking Italy page to learn more about the group (maybe you'd even like to join in - you don't have to have a blog to join the group and cook along with everyone else), find links to other members of the group, and links to all the Cooking Italy recipes I've cooked so far.

 

Available from Amazon, Book Depository UK, Fishpond NZ 

I'm also submitting this post to Cookbook Sundays, hosted by the lovely Brenda at Brenda's Canadian Kitchen.  She's worth a visit any day of the week, but why not head over there right now and see who else has dusted off their cookbooks - you'll almost certainly find some great recipes, and maybe you'll discover a new book you'd like to add to your collection.

Peach & Blueberry Breakfast Quinoa

Are you sick of me and quinoa yet?  Well, I just couldn't close the chapter on this wonderful ingredient without sharing one more dish with you.  I've got to tell you that trying this one was stepping way out of my comfort zone, but that's what Make it with ..... Mondays is all about and I'm so thrilled that so many of you have really taken the challenge over the last couple of weeks and done just that.

I came across this recipe for Warm & Nutty Cinnamon Quinoa on Heidi Swanson's wonderful blog, 101 Cookbooks.  It looked so beautiful and tempting that I really wanted to try it for Make it with ..... Mondays challenge quinoa, but I have to admit that I was more than a little nervous about it.  You see the original recipe calls for cooking the quinoa in milk and water.  Well I hate milk, and two things that really make me gag are rice pudding (or any kind of vaguely "sweet" rice dish) and porridge.  Actually I can't even be in the same room as porridge - just the smell of it nearly makes me barf!  I'm sorry, but it's true - it's completely uncontrollable - put a bowl of porridge in front of me at your own peril.

So I was somewhat scared that this dish might turn out to be vaguely reminiscent of either of these dreaded dishes, but it looked so good in Heidi's photos I decided to "man-up" and give it a try.  I used almond milk instead of regular milk, and that added a lovely sweet nuttiness.  I thought about using coconut milk, and that would certainly be an option, if you prefer.  Like Heidi, I chose a red quinoa for this, but regular would be fine.  I also happened to have some beautiful, perfectly ripe peaches and blueberries on hand, so I used those instead of berries.  The other minor change I made was drizzling at the end with honey, instead of agave nectar.  I'm guessing that rice syrup or maple syrup would also work well.

The result was wonderful - not at all like any kind of porridge or rice pudding - the quinoa has a lovely nutty flavour (enhanced by the almond milk) and retains some chewiness.  The little bit of sweetness that comes through from the almond milk and honey, as well as the cinnamon, is a nice complement to the tangy, fresh fruit.  This was flavourful, filling and nourishing, without giving that feeling of heaviness that you can sometimes get after eating other cereals.  The second day, I ate this with a combination of blueberries, apricots and plums, which was also delicious.  I think pretty much any fruit would work in this, and even stewed, dried fruit in winter would be fine. Maybe banana and shaved coconut would also be good, especially if you used coconut milk as part of the cooking liquid.  You could also experiment with different nuts here - walnuts, almonds, hazelnuts, pistachios, macadamias would all be good alternatives.

Peach & Blueberry Breakfast Quinoa Recipe

Adapted from 101 Cookbooks

Makes 2 generous servings

Click here for a printable copy of this recipe

Gluten-free, vegan option

1/2 cup almond milk

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup red quinoa

(rinse thoroughly in lots of running water)

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 cup fresh blueberries

2 fresh peaches, cubed

1/4 chopped pecans, toasted

2 teaspoons honey

(use agave nectar, maple syrup or rice syrup for vegan option)

Put quinoa, almond milk and water into a medium saucepan, set over high heat and bring to the boil.  Turn heat down to medium-low, cover and simmer until liquid is almost completely absorbed (about 15 minutes).  (Note:  I suggest you don't walk away - the milk bubbles up a lot, and makes a horrible mess if it boils over.  I found I had to leave the lid of my pan slightly ajar, and lift it off at regular intervals.  Maybe I should have used a slightly bigger pan.)

Remove pan from the heat, and allow it to stand, covered, for 5 minutes.  Stir in the cinnamon and then the fresh fruit.  Transfer to serving bowls, top with the toasted pecans, and drizzle with honey.

Delicious while still warm, but also just as good cold the next day.  If desired, you could reheat briefly in the microwave the next day, and you may also want to add a little extra milk to loosen.

This post is a contribution to Make it with ... Mondays challenge quinoa - the linky is still open until Monday 31 January, so keep your quinoa posts coming, and don't forget to check out this week's special ingredient which is paprika.

I'm also linking this to the Decidedly Healthy or Horridly Decadent Blog Hop and to next week's Hearth & Soul Blog Hop, also to the Fit Foodista February Blog Carnival.

Spanish-inspired Quinoa Salad - Quick & Easy # 8

This is another one of those dishes from my "Quick and Easy" file.  These dishes are of course, as the title suggests, quick and easy to prepare, but they are also dishes that I consider to be very free-form - they're conceptual rather than confined to a strict recipe.  They are meant to inspire you rather than direct you - quantities are unimportant, and you should use this as a guideline only.  Vary quantities according to what you have on hand, or feel free to swap out any ingredients according to your tastes.

At the risk of offending half the population of Spain, I have called this a "Spanish-inspired" quinoa salad, but please note that "inspired" is the operative word here.  Even though quinoa, basil, feta and rocket (arugula) have all found their way into this, my original inspiration came from a handful of ingredients that I always associate with visits to Barcelona - chorizo sausage, white/butter beans, tomatoes and olives.  I often make a salad of just these four ingredients, but when thinking about ideas for Make it with ..... Mondays challenge quinoa it occurred to me that, by adding some quinoa and a few other ingredients, I could turn this simple salad into a quick but substantial meal.

Begin, by cooking the quinoa.  Rinse thoroughly first.  Put one cup of quinoa in a pan with two cups of liquid;  set pan over high heat and bring to a boil;  turn heat down to medium-low and simmer until all the liquid has been absorbed.  Remove from heat, allow to sit covered for about 5 minutes, then fluff up with a fork.  

On this occasion, I used mushroom stock as my liquid, but you could use any other kind of vegetable stock or chicken stock or even just water.  The mushroom stock gave it fantastic flavour, and has now got me thinking that you could maybe cook the quinoa risotto-style and make a great mushroom risotto - I see an experiment coming up.  But I digress.

Put cooked quinoa into a serving bowl.  Add a couple of chopped tomatoes, a tin of drained and rinsed butter beans (or cannellini beans or chickpeas), a handful of chopped fresh basil leaves (or flat-leaf parsley or coriander), and a handful of mixed olives.  Drizzle over a bit of red wine vinegar or sherry vinegar or balsamic vinegar.

Heat a good slosh or two of olive oil in a saute pan over high heat.  Slice up some chorizo sausage, add to the preheated pan and cook until the chorizo is browned and starting to "caramelise" around the edges, and has rendered out a lot of its fat.  This fat will be rich with the smoky flavour and aroma of paprika, and is going to help make the dressing for the salad.  Add the sauteed chorizo and all of the pan juices to the salad bowl.

Toss well.  Taste and then adjust according to taste - adding more vinegar, oil, salt, pepper or herbs as may be required to suit your palate.

Add some chunks of feta cheese (or goat's cheese or blue cheese or Manchego) and peppery rocket (arugula) (or spinach or watercress) leaves.  Serve while still slightly warm or at room temperature.  Leftovers refrigerate well, but it is best brought back to room temperature before serving.

You could make this gluten-free, by replacing the chorizo with chunks of gluten-free sausage, or even some shrimp or squid instead, and replacing the vinegar with some lemon juice.  I hope you'll let your imagination run wild and give this a try.

This post is a contribution to Make it with ... Mondays challenge quinoa - the linky is still open until Monday 31 January, so keep your quinoa posts coming, and don't forget to check out this week's special ingredient which is paprika.

I'm also sharing this post at Food on Friday hosted by Carole at Carole's Chatter.