Butternut squash chilli with quinoa

Ever since I started blogging, I've come across countless quinoa recipes. I've only ever had quinoa in a store bought salad so I was pretty surprised to learn that it could also be used to make cakes and cookies. 


Quinoa is a recently newly discovered low fat grain that's high in protein and a good source of manganese, magnesium, iron copper and phosphorus. It's definitely a good addition to one's diet!


So to start off my quinoa cooking journey, I decided on a warm  Butternut squash chilli with quinoa. A recipe I adapted from Gordon Ramsay's Chilli con Carne and Olive's magazine Butternut squash chilli with quinoa recipe.

Ingredients (Serves 4)
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 bay leaf
1 cinnamon stick
1 tsp dried oregano
3 tsp ground cumin
1 - 2 tsp chilli powder(depending on taste. Feel free to omit this.)
1 butternut squash, about 1kg, peeled and cubed#
100g quinoa, soaked in water for 30 mins
2 tins of chopped tomatoes
1 tin of red kidney beans
olive oil
Salt and Pepper
a bunch of coriander, chopped


Method
Roast butternut squash for 10 mins and boil quinoa for 10 mins.
Sweat onions and garlic in olive oil in a large saucepan.
Add oregano, cumin, chilli powder and cook till they release their aroma.
Add partially cooked quinoa, butternut squash, chopped tomatoes, cinnamon and bay leaf,.
Simmer for about 10 mins and add red kidney beans.
Simmer for another 5 mins.
Stir in coriander, check for seasoning and serve.

Chamchijeon - Korean Tuna Pancakes

I've been visiting maangchi.com since my friend, Evelyn,  a very keen cook, introduced me to it. Love this website as it contains easy and delicious Korean recipes and I for one, don't know too much about Korean food other than Korean BBQ, kimchi, bibimbap(mixed rice), pajeon(green onion pancake and bulgogi(marinated BBQ beef). Yup, i think that's about it. Oh and kimchi chigae (kimchi soup). :P So I am definitely learning more about Korean food through this website!!


Here's one easy side dish that i made recently, Chamchijeon or Tuna Pancakes. Some how it kinda changes the taste of canned tuna and is somewhat chewy and really tasty so it's a winner!!


Adapted from Maangchi. com


Ingredients (for 2-3 servings):
1 can of tuna (5 oz: 142 grams)
onion
garlic
salt
ground black pepper,
sesame oil
egg
flour
canola oil
chives

Directions:

1. Strain out the liquid from a can of tuna and place it in a bowl
   
2. Add ¼ cup chopped onion, 1 minced garlic, 1ts salt, ¼ ts ground black pepper, 1 egg, 1 ts sesame oil, chives and 2 tbs flour to the tuna and mix it well.
3. Heat up a non-stick pan and spread 1-2 tbs canola oil.
4. Scoop a spoonful of the tuna mixture with a spoon and place it on the heated pan.
5. Press slightly and round the edges with the spoon.
6. Make 6 small size pancakes with the tuna mixture.
7. When the bottom is cooked golden brown, turn it over and cook until both sides of the pancakes are golden brown. Total cooking time is 3-5 minutes.
8. Transfer the cooked pancakes to a serving plate and serve with rice.