I could start this post by apologising profusely for my absence, but I sense it might be a bit of a theme this year (we have so much going on) and the blog is a bit of a low priority at the moment (amongst other such life changing discussions as "build me a house" and "shall we try to have another child?" etc.). So I will be back and forth, posting when I can or when people ask for specific recipes.
Don't you just love instagram? I live on it. And that's where I saw a variation of this recipe, from the gorgeous Rachael Finch. The recipe originally appeared on her website. I am trying to convince Mr K that we should eat less meat, somewhat unsuccessfully, but if I can find more things like this then I think I am in with a shot.
I didn't have enough almond meal for the recipe and although I had raw almonds and could have made some, I also had a bit of quinoa languishing at the back of my cupboard, so I decided to adapt the recipe to suit what we had. It was delicious. I will definitely be making it again.
The best part for me was that it actually held together! So many of my quinoa experiments have been failures as I have yet to find the right texture and binding agents. My quinoa patties always fall apart. I just tend to throw it in salads or serve it as a side with meat or a stew, but this time it really worked well.
Here is the link to the original recipe, which I have adapted below. Rachael actually adapted it to fit what she had in her cupboard, so it is a very forgiving loaf. You could add whatever veggies you like to it - I think it would be great with roasted eggplant, zucchini and capsicum and served with a chunky tomato sauce in winter, or do as we did and serve it with a salad. This served three hungry people easily, but you could fiddle with the amounts and make a larger loaf to feed more.
Pumpkin and quinoa loaf
Ingredients
1/2 a small butternut pumpkin
1/3 cup almond meal
1/2 cup toasted and chopped walnuts
1/2 cup quinoa, rinsed well
Handful sundried tomatoes, sliced
100g feta cheese, roughly crumbled
3 free range eggs
1 tablespoon chives
1/4 cup milk
Salt & pepper, to taste
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celcius.
Remove the skin from the pumpkin, cut into bite size cubes and roast on a greased tray for 20 minutes or until coloured and soft. Let the pumpkin cool.
Cook the quinoa in a pot over a low heat and allow to cool.
Meanwhile, mix together eggs, milk and almond meal, quinoa then add all other ingredients. Fold gently to mix well. Pour into baking tin lined with baking paper & bake for 30-40mins, or until crisp on top.
Let the loaf cool for about 5 minutes before removing from tin. Serve with a salad or steamed veggies.
