Quinoa Tapada

January 26, 2017 SouthAmerica

I have to start explaining how Peruvian food uses a lot of rice and potatoes. After all we are known worldwide for our potatoes. In many Peruvian dishes you will find either or sometimes both of these ingredients. This recipe is based on the classic dish called Arroz Tapado, but we used quinoa instead of rice. And for a healthier version of this classic, with a touch of Colorado, we are using ground Bison meat, also known as Buffalo meat.

Serves 4

quinoa recipes, Yanira K. Wise — Quinoa Tapada

Ingredients:

2 cups of cooked Quinoa

1 Lb. Bison ground meat or any other ground meat as beef or ground turkey

3 Tbsp. Olive oil

½ cup onion chopped

2 tomatoes cut up and seedless

1 Tbsp. Tomato paste

4 Tsp. Raisins soaked in hot water

5 Kalamata olives (if you don´t like olives you can leave out)

¼ tsp. of red pepper flakes (optional)

3 hard-boiled eggs cut up in little squares

1 Tbsp. parsley finely chopped

Salt and Pepper to taste

Preparation:

Start making several hard-boiled eggs 2 or 3 and once cooled, cut up in little squares.
cook the quinoa

The quinoa we use is by Ancient Harvest, Organic 100% Royal Bolivian

The rule of thumb is you cook the quinoa as you cook the rice, for one cup of quinoa add 2 cups of water, this time we are cooking 2 cups of Quinoa so we can use the leftover Quinoa for a cold salad.

In a pot mix the quinoa and water, bring to a boil, and once it boils reduce the temperature to low heat, cover and leave to simmer for approximately 20 or 25 minutes. Check from time to time to make sure it doesn´t need more water; if so add hot boiling water to not disrupt the cooking process. Fluff with a fork and it should be ready to serve.

Here there are two options to follow for seasoning the quinoa once it is fully cooked.

You could add some salt if it is going to be served as a side dish. Also if you have any leftovers it could be used in a salad or tabouleh. (recipes will be posted later)
You could leave it unsalted so any left overs can be used for a morning shake, this will be sweet.

cooking the meat

In a frying pan pour the olive oil and then add the onion. Brown them until translucent, and then add the garlic and cook until fragrant. To this add the ground meat, some salt and pepper, and brown the meat for about 10 minutes, then add the tomato paste, cut up tomatoes, raisins, olives, red pepper flakes if you like it spicier, mix, cover and cook for 10 minutes, or until thoroughly cooked. Finally, add the cut up hard-boiled eggs and parsley, mix well, then taste and add some salt if needed.

stacking it up

In a cereal bowl pour some olive oil (about three drops) enough so the quinoa doesn´t stick to the bowl. Scoop in a thin layer of quinoa, pressing it down to make it firm. Then add a good serving of the meat sauce as the middle layer, and then finally top with another layer of quinoa. Remember that the first layer of quinoa will be the top layer once it is placed on the dish. Flip the bowl over and gentle place the contents to avoid it splitting apart. For garnish use some sprig of parsley, some pieces of hard-boiled egg and olives if you like. This can be a main dish at dinner time accompanied by a green salad or for lunch just by itself. You could always change the serving size depending on how you combine the layers. The great thing about this meal is its flexibility to improvise on the ingredients.

Enjoy!

For more Quinoa Recipes check my e-book “10 Authentic Peruvian Quinoa Recipes”