Lovely recipe for orange and cinnamon cake ... I'm going to try this one!!!
Friday, December 12, 2014
Sunday, November 9, 2014
Light Chicken Risotto with Quinoa, pepper and basil
OK, here's my quick concoction for a very light chicken risotto, with just the basic ingredients. I didn't want it to be too starchy and creamy (I'm sure risotto purists everywhere are pooh-poohing as I type) but feel free to play around with this as you like.
Ingredients:
Chicken breast boneless - 300 g
Quinoa seeds - 1 cup
Red peppers (capsicum) - 1/2
Yellow pepper (capsicum) - 1/2
Basil leaves - 1 bunch
Onions - 2 medium
Garlic - 4-5 cloves
Salt
Pepper
Olive oil - 3-4 teaspoons
Cooking butter - 2 tablespoons
Water/stock
Method:
1. Wash the Quinoa well and keep aside.
This step is very important! Quinoa contains a bitter coating on the seeds which can ruin the best dish.
2. Take a few of the basil leaves(depending on how strong a flavour of basil you would like), I used about 3-4 of the leaves. Chop the leaves finely.
3. Cut the chicken breast into smaller pieces, about 1" size. Mix in the basil leaves, about 1/2 spoon of pepper and salt to taste. Leave this aside to marinate.
4. Cut the red and yellow peppers into 1" pieces and keep them aside
5. Finely dice the onions and garlic.
6. In a flat pan, add the olive oil and let it heat a bit
7. Add the diced garlic and saute for about 30 seconds to 1 minute, till it gets a little translucent
8. Add the chopped onion and saute again till translucent, you can also put a lid on it for about 30 s
9. Once the onions are glossy, add in the chicken, increase the heat and stir a bit to ensure that each piece gets a bit of the oil
10. Cover the pan and let it cook for a couple of minutes
11. Add the red and yellow peppers and more chopped basil leaves and stir fry it a bit, add a bit of salt and pepper if needed.
12. Add in the Quinoa seeds and stir it well, keep stirring it a bit every few minutes to ensure it doesn't stick to the pan. Continue for about 5 minutes
13. Add 2-3 cups of water and stir well, increase the heat and bring the dish to a boil, cover and cook for about 20 minutes.
14. Keep stirring the dish occasionally (10 minutes or so) to ensure that the quinoa absorbs the water, add more water if needed.
15. After about 20-30 minutes, the quinoa should have expanded to about 2-3 times its original size, the water should also have evaporated. Now, add the butter and cook for another 5 minutes.
16. Turn off the gas and leave the dish to complete in the residual heat for about 5 more minutes.
17. Serve hot, bon appetit!
Ingredients:
Chicken breast boneless - 300 g
Quinoa seeds - 1 cup
Red peppers (capsicum) - 1/2
Yellow pepper (capsicum) - 1/2
Basil leaves - 1 bunch
Onions - 2 medium
Garlic - 4-5 cloves
Salt
Pepper
Olive oil - 3-4 teaspoons
Cooking butter - 2 tablespoons
Water/stock
Method:
1. Wash the Quinoa well and keep aside.
This step is very important! Quinoa contains a bitter coating on the seeds which can ruin the best dish.
2. Take a few of the basil leaves(depending on how strong a flavour of basil you would like), I used about 3-4 of the leaves. Chop the leaves finely.
3. Cut the chicken breast into smaller pieces, about 1" size. Mix in the basil leaves, about 1/2 spoon of pepper and salt to taste. Leave this aside to marinate.
4. Cut the red and yellow peppers into 1" pieces and keep them aside
5. Finely dice the onions and garlic.
6. In a flat pan, add the olive oil and let it heat a bit
7. Add the diced garlic and saute for about 30 seconds to 1 minute, till it gets a little translucent
8. Add the chopped onion and saute again till translucent, you can also put a lid on it for about 30 s
9. Once the onions are glossy, add in the chicken, increase the heat and stir a bit to ensure that each piece gets a bit of the oil
10. Cover the pan and let it cook for a couple of minutes
11. Add the red and yellow peppers and more chopped basil leaves and stir fry it a bit, add a bit of salt and pepper if needed.
12. Add in the Quinoa seeds and stir it well, keep stirring it a bit every few minutes to ensure it doesn't stick to the pan. Continue for about 5 minutes
13. Add 2-3 cups of water and stir well, increase the heat and bring the dish to a boil, cover and cook for about 20 minutes.
14. Keep stirring the dish occasionally (10 minutes or so) to ensure that the quinoa absorbs the water, add more water if needed.
15. After about 20-30 minutes, the quinoa should have expanded to about 2-3 times its original size, the water should also have evaporated. Now, add the butter and cook for another 5 minutes.
16. Turn off the gas and leave the dish to complete in the residual heat for about 5 more minutes.
17. Serve hot, bon appetit!
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