Moroccan inspired Quinoa and Salmon

Sunday, 29 May 2011

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I must be feeling a bit exotic because I'd been eying this bag of strange tiny balls with the name I couldn't pronounce for weeks at Costco. I'd heard of quinoa (pronounced keen-wa) but had no clue how to prepare or what to serve them with. So on a whim I bought a bag. To me quinoa looks like couscous, so in my cookbook perusing I discovered that couscous originated in Morocco, which brings me to tonights dinner!

Quinoa with vegetables

1 tbsp olive oil

1 small onion, quartered & diced

1 zucchini, sliced

1 carrot, chopped

1/2 cup frozen mixed red, yellow and green bell peppers

1 - 14.5 oz. can chicken broth (no MSG added)

1/4 cup water

1 cup whole grain quinoa

1/2 tsp turmeric

1 pinch saffron

1-2 bay leafs

dash curry powder

dash cayenne pepper

Salmon

4 salmon fillets, thawed if frozen

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp turmeric

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp garlic salt

1 tbsp lemon or lime juice

Heat olive oil in a deep skillet or wok. Cook onions on medium high for a couple minutes until they begin to soften and caramelize. Add zucchini and carrots and cook for another couple minutes. Pour in chicken broth and water followed by the quinoa. Add all the spices to your pan, stir together and simmer on medium heat for 12 minutes or until quinoa has absorbed all the liquid. Remove bay leafs.

While quinoa is cooking prepare salmon. In separate skillet heat olive oil. Combine turmeric, cinnamon, cayenne and garlic salt. Rub seasoning mixture onto fish and place seasoned side down in heated olive oil then pour the lemon or lime juice over top of the other side of the fish. Cook 5 minutes then turn over and cook another 3 or until the salmon flakes easily with fork.

Place salmon on quinoa and veggies.

* Check out the Creamy Saffron Soup for all about saffron.

*Quinoa is actually a seed that was a staple food in the ancient Inca's diet. You don't have to just use it when your feeling exotic either :) Substitute in place of brown rice, couscous or barley in your favorite recipes to change things up and add tons of nutrients. Nutritionists call quinoa a super food! Here's how it brakes down:

220 calories (70 percent carbs, 15 percent fat, 15 percent protein)
40 grams of carbohydrates (13 percent daily value)
8 grams of protein (16 percent of daily value)
3.5 grams of fat (5 percent daily value with no saturated fat)
A glycemic load (blood sugar spike) of only 18 out of 250
5 grams of fiber (20 percent of daily value)
20 percent of daily value of folate (various forms of Vitamin B)
30 percent of magnesium daily value (beneficial for people with migraine headaches); 28 percent daily value of phosphorous; iron (15 percent); copper (18 percent); and manganese (almost 60 percent)

http://www.mnn.com/food/healthy-eating/stories/quinoa-nutrition-facts

* Salmon is loaded with omega-3 fatty acids, which are healthy fats that your body needs, plus lots of other vitamins and minerals (too many to name without feeling like a textbook). All that good stuff benefits things like muscle, tissue, hormones, cardio-vascular system (i.e. reduce blood pressure, lower cholesterol, etc.), metabolism by lowering blood sugar, eyes and brain. Here's some other nice side effects of making salmon part of your diet:

" Omega-3 fatty acids reduce inflammation of the arteries and digestive system, reduce chances of cancer of colon, prostrate and kidneys etc., improve skin texture, add shining to eyes, skin, hair and nails and help in the growth of beneficial bacteria in the colon. The fatter the salmon, the more nutritious and healthy it is."

http://www.organicfacts.net/health-benefits/animal-product/health-benefits-of-salmon.html