Quinoa Sushi, Miso Soup, Berry Crips

Quinoa Sushi

Ingredients:

• 2 cups quinoa
• 4 cups water
• 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 sweet potato
• 1/3 cup + 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 1/3 cup soy sauce
• 1 white or yellow onion
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 cup green beans
• 4 ounces cream cheese
• 1/4 cup aji amarillo sauce (see recipe here )
• 4-6 sheets of nori (dried seaweed)
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro (optional)

1.      Mix 2 tablespoons rice vinegar, 2 tablespoons sugar and 2 teaspoons salt until sugar and salt dissolve. Place the quinoa in a pot and add about 4 cups of salted water. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer until quinoa is transluscent and you can see little "tails" on the grains. Drain quinoa, then stir vinegar mixture into hot quinoa, tossing to mix. Set aside.

2.      Peel sweet potato and cut into rectangles about 2 1/2 inches long and 1/2 inch thick. Bring 1 1/2 cups water, soy sauce, and remaining rice vinegar to boil. Cook sweet potatoes until tender, about 8-10 minutes. Remove sweet potatoes, and add green beans to boiling water. Cook until crisp tender, then drain.

3.      Slice onion into thin pieces. In a small skillet heat 1 tablespoon butter and 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium-low heat. Add onions and cook slowly until brown, fragrant and caramelized. Set aside.

4.      Place nori on top of a bamboo sushi rolling mat. Spread a tablespoon of aji sauce over the nori. Spread a rectangle layer of cooked quinoa over sauce, pressing down with fingers for even thickness, and leaving a 1/2 margin all around.

5.      Line up a few pieces of sweet potato lengthwise in the middle of the rectangle of quinoa. Add several green beans, and some of the caramelized onion. Cut cream cheese into thin rectangles and add cream cheese to vegetables. Roll sushi tightly, then cut crosswise into bite size pieces, using a very sharp knife. Repeat with remaining ingredients.

Makes about 24 pieces, enough for about 4 people.

Miso Soup

The basis of the miso soup is the broth, or dashi. In this vegan version, made with dried kelp (kombu) and dried shitake mushrooms, it takes about two hours of total boiling time to prepare the broth. It’s better to use the broth right away; after straining the broth, the miso soup can be made by adding other ingredients to the dashi. There are different kinds of miso soup. This is a basic one.

Ingredients:

Dashi (broth)

2 liters or 2 quarts of water

1 oz. or 30g dashi kombu (dried kelp)

5-6 dried shiitake mushrooms.

Miso Soup

Dashi

Kombu (& mushrooms) – from the dashi!

Extra-firm tofu cut into 1cm or ½ inch cubes

Scallions sliced crosswise

Miso paste

Preparation:

Dashi:

Set the water to boil in a big saucepan. Dust of the kombu and shitake mushrooms with a wet towel to make sure there is no sand or dirt, but taking care not to remove the white film on the kombu – this is a tasty and nutritious mixture of minerals and salts that have come to the surface!

Cut the kombu into strips and add them to the water, and let it cook on a low simmer, with lid on but open by a crack.

Boil water in a kettle and pour over the mushrooms in a bowl. Cover the bowl with a plate to make sure the mushrooms remain submerged. Let the mushrooms soak while the kombu cooks for about an hour and a half.

Than add the mushroom with the soaking liquid to the broth. Cover and let simmer for another half hour.

Strain the broth through a coffee filter placed in a strainer into a bowl, or skip this step if making miso soup immediately.

Soup:

Heat the dashi in a large saucepan. Add the vegetables that need to boil.

In this version, we are using the kelp and mushrooms that were used to make the broth, and we just need to add the tofu and let it cook for a few minutes to let the flavor absorb.

Add the scallions.

Lower the heat so the soup stops boiling. Then dissolve the miso paste into the soup one spoonful at a time.

Pour into bowls, serve hot and enjoy!

 Berry Crisp

Ingredients:

• 16 oz (about 3 cups) fresh or thawed frozen mixed berries (raspberries, blackberries, blueberries and strawberries)
• Zest and juice of 1 lemon
• 1 Tbsp arrowroot
• 2 Tbsp maple syrup
• 10 pitted unsweetened dates
• ½ cup whole oats
• ½ cup whole wheat flour
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 3 Tbsp virgin coconut oil, melted
• Pinch sea salt

Preparation:

1.      Preheat oven to 350oF. In a medium bowl, combine berries, zest, lemon juice and arrowroot. Drizzle one tablespoon maple syrup over top and toss to combine. Pour berry mixture into a baking dish.

2.      Chop dates into small pieces. In a food processor, grind together the oats, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, oil, remaining one tablespoon maple syrup and salt; blend to combine. Distribute crumble mixture evenly over berries in baking dish.

3.      Place baking dish on a baking sheet to catch any spills. Bake for 45 minutes, until browned and bubbling. Serve warm and garnish with nonfat Greek yoghurt, if desired.

Serves 8.