Serves: 2
Approx cost: €4
Approx calories (per serving): ~600
Approx preparation and cooking time: 40 mins
I’ve been saying for a long time that I’m pretty darn late to the Quinoa party. This meal is officially the first time I’ve tried it and I have to say – it’s not bad. Very filling and low in calories. My wife very kindly told me that she’d never had “good quinoa” before, until she tried mine, so that’s something, eh? We’re going some beetroot on our balcony at the moment. It’s being grown rather intensively in a pot, so I wasn’t entirely certain they would yield any results, but I pulled a couple up to check on them and sure enough, there are some delicious little beets at the end of the stalks.
I’d recently seen that the greens of beetroots could be eaten so I was looking forward to trying these. I then became curious as to whether it was actually necessary to boil beetroot before it could be eaten and joy of joy, it was not. It’s actually pretty delicious when raw – a bit like a carrot – so I decided to stick these on top as well. Last but not least, the swordfish! It’s been a very, very long time since I had any swordfish and alas I almost *never* see it over here. As luck would have it we happened to see a special deal on tuna and swordfish last week. I managed to get some non-albacore tuna (albacore makes a nice tuna steak, but sometimes it’s nice to have a change) and some wonderful swordfish. The whole meal was actually incredibly filling, and yet pretty darn healthy. The only thing missing would have been some chopped coriander sprinkled over the top, but alas I forgot to buy it!
Ingredients
– 100g dried Quinoa
– 2 x Swordfish steaks
– 1 x Mango
– 1 raw Beetroot with greens attached
– 2 x handfuls of Rocket
– Half a green Bell Pepper
– 1 x large chunk of Cucumber (~6cm)
– 2 tbsps + 2 tsps Olive Oil
– 1 tbsp Nuöc Màm
– Juice from half a Lemon
– Salt
– Pepper
Instructions
- Start by peeling the mango. Cut the flesh away from the pit using a sharp knife and then dice finely. Transfer the diced mango to a bowl, pour in the Nuöc Màm sauce and mix well before setting aside while you prepare the rest of the dish.
- Next, peel the beetroot and slice it very finely. Transfer the slices into a small bowl with the lemon juice and mix well before setting aside. Meanwhile, cut each stalk into lengths of about 2cm – 3cm.
- Next, wash the quinoa and then add to a pan with twice the amount of water as there is quinoa. Add 1 tsp of salt to the water and bring to the boil before lowering the temperature and simmering for about 8 minutes. Test occasionally to see if done. When done, drain the quinoa and allow to cool. Meanwhile, wash and finely chop the bell pepper and cucumber. Add to the cooled quinoa with 1 tbsp of Olive Oil and some salt and pepper and mix well.
- Finally, heat a grill pan, or a frying pan if you don’t have one available, and brush the swordfish with the remaining 1 tbsp of Olive Oil. Sprinkle on some salt and pepper and transfer to the pan. Cook in the pan for around 10-12 minutes, depending on the thickness, flipping every 2.5 – 3 minutes. While the fish is cooking you can begin to layer up the plate. Place a handful of rocket on each plate and put half the quinoa salad on top in the middle – I find that using a large, round cookie cutter as a mould makes a nice effect. Sprinkle the mango all around the quinoa salad.
- Place the grilled swordfish on top of the quinoa, and top with the sliced beetroot, pouring over any excess lemon juice. Heat a small pan with the 2 tsps of Olive Oil. When really hot, throw in the beetroot stalks and fry very fast for about 20-30 seconds. Pour over the plates and serve immediately, and enjoy!
Greg says
I love how colorful and fresh this dish is. Looks wonderful.
Charles says
Thanks Greg – for my first try of quinoa I was quite pleased, but tell me – is it supposed to be soft, or slightly "crunchy"? Opinion on this seems to differ between the people I asked.
Sissi says
Charles, it's hard to believe this wonderful dish has cost you only 4 euro per person! Beautiful presentation!
I have never tasted quinoa myself, though I have had it in my kitchen for at least a year (I often buy new grains I want to discover and then I forget them…).
It's incredible, all that things which be grown on the balcony! Were your pots very deep? Maybe I could try growing beetroot too, next year… Beetroot greens are also very good in beetroot soup and when young they are often served in salad mixtures here (in restaurants, I have never tried it at home).
Charles says
Hi Sissi – We had a lot of pots actually. We like to try to grow things, even if they fail. A lot of the time it's just nice to feel like you're nurturing something, although we often have good luck with some things – rocket, cherry tomatoes etc. This year we're trying aubergines, courgettes, green peppers, cucumbers and beetroot, as well as mint, dill and basil. We're also growing nicotiana and dahlias (if you're not familiar with nicotiana, the smell is just divine, but they only smell in the evening times). The pot for the beetroot is about 40cm deep I think. Other things are being grown quite intensively in shallower pots. You just need to remember to feed the soil regularly, as the nutrients will be used quickly. Of course you don't end up with perfect results, but we have 2 courgettes and 2 cucumbers growing, and already 1 green pepper which is really exciting to see!
Sissi says
Wow! I'm impressed! Until now I have had only herbs, salads (rocket, etc) and daikon and the only thing I can boast about is the chili pepper I have every year and my last year's cherry tomatoes. It is surprising how well it grows here!
I have never heard of nicotiana, but I can imagine opening the balcony, having a glass of wine (or home-made liqueur 😉 ) and enjoying the beautiful smell…
Strangely I have no flours on my balcony. It's very utilitarian. 40 cm doesn't sound huge, I will maybe try beetroots next year.
Charles says
I'm lucky to have two balconies, so we tend to use one as the "sitting" balcony – the smaller one, and then the bigger one we keep all the vegetables on. Apparently it's possible to create tobacco from the leaves of nicotiana, according to Wikipedia 😮 – here's the page for the genus I have at least: Nicotiana Alata
kelly says
Whoa, Charles, a quinoa salad! Yeah!! (AND, we have it on good authority that it's a GOOD one at that :)) Love the combination of mango and beet – stunning colours! I find the more you play around with these grains, the more fun you have and the palette adapts quite nicely – your wife is lucky!!
Charles says
Thanks Kelly. I enjoyed my first foray into Quinoa. Unfortunately they don't have a great deal of other grains in France, but I'll be going to England in a few weeks to visit my parents. They have a chain of stores there which sell health-foods, grains, all sorts of things, so I'm looking forward to stocking up on some interesting things to use when I return!
Sissi says
Very interesting! I should maybe plant it and make my own tobacco! (Although I don't smoke…).
PS I have just seen your comment below (about the grains in France). My French family buys different grains at the Biocoop chain (http://www.biocoop.fr/carte-magasins.php); there are at least 10 biocoop shops in Paris.
I have also seen this chain: http://www.lavieclaire.com/ou-nous-trouver-result…
I hope it helps! (You will have a lighter luggage on your way back from the UK 😉 )
Charles says
Haha, I never heard of anyone making their own tobacco from the plant – I knew it was related to the tobacco plants but I didn't know it was possible to actually cultivate it as tobacco until I read the Wikipedia article. I can only imagine how amazing the fields of this smell in the evenings wherever they *do* cultivate it specifically for tobacco (Iran it seems).
I didn't think of those stores actually – you're right, I went to Bio Co-op before and they have a *lot* of really great, natural and organic stuff. All sorts of cheeses and juices and grains. There is one not far from me so I should check it out. I also went to a Vie Claire before, but haven't been for a really long time. There's also a place called "Naturalia" which, now I think about it, seems to sell a lot of stuff like this. Thanks for the reminder!
Pure Complex says
I'm just getting into eating more fish and this dish really look interesting and delicious. I love the mango's as well. Reminds me of a tropical dish.
Charles says
Thanks Kay – the Nuöc Màm on the mango really brings out the flavour I think! Hope you're having a great day 🙂
kristy says
How did I miss this one?! I haven't had swordfish in years. Served with the mango…looks amazing! (I'll pass on the beets though, LOL.) I don't know if I've had quinoa yet or not either. I know Mike and Mr. N just did at his cooking class – they both enjoyed it. So glad you found the swordfish so you could share. 🙂
Charles says
Thanks Kristy – Quinoa is good, although I think it's a bit tasteless, on its own I mean – definitely something which goes well with strong flavours, maybe chilli, lemon juice etc! Hope you're having a good day 🙂