Quinoa with sauté vegetables

Sauté vegetables are ideas to prepare easy-to-make dishes and do not require much time to prepare them. We choose the vegetables that we have on hand and to taste.

On this occasion, I have used an  eggplant , a  carrot , half a  zucchini   I had it left over from the previous day and the Quinoa I had previously cooked; although it could be prepared at the same time, as I do on other occasions because while the quinoa is cooked, the vegetables are sautéed.             

>> See another recipe with the explanation

to prepare Quinoa

 

Dish preparation:

The Quinoa I have used is a mixture of three-colored grains:  cream ,  red  and  black . On other occasions, I use Quinoa of a single color; that is to say, the one I have at home at that moment.

In a skillet, we put  extra virgin olive oil  to heat; we cut the vegetables into small cubes because they are made quicker. When they are tender, we add Quinoa (previously cooked), stir and let sauté a few minutes over a low heat.

When serving (but this, if desired), squeeze a few drops of  lemon  to give a different touch to the dish. And like that, we have a combination of foods which provide us with a dish for lunchtime very complete nutritionally.

Mediterranean Savor: Vegetable stew

Vegetable stew is one of the most typical dishes of spring because the new seasonal vegetables like peas, snow peas (mangetout) or artichokes arrive at the markets.         

My mother asked the greengrocer to clean and pick over a selection of mixed vegetables and in this way, she saved time on preparing the vegetable stew.

Today, in general, in all shops they prepare mixed vegetables beforehand, clean and chopped.

Preparation of Vegetable stew:

 

Cover the bottom of a saucepan with extra virgin olive oil and heat. Firstly, sauté one onion, finely chopped and then add some cloves of garlic, chopped. Stir and let it make on a low heat.

Then, add the different ingredients by degree of hardness: first, the hardest ones like pumpkin or carrot, to finish with the tenderest ones like spinach or lettuce.

This way of preparing the vegetables is very typical of Mediterranean cuisine, hence the concept of Mediterranean Savor.

As we add an ingredient, stir and let it sauté some minutes before adding the next one. Always keep on a low heat.

Ingredients used on this occasion:

extra virgin olive oil, garlic, broccoli, zucchini, pumpkin, onion, cabbage, cauliflower, wild asparagus, spinach, peas, green beans, leek, carrot and sea salt (to taste).

◼ Another recipe in which the vegetables are sautéed in their own juice is: 

>> Ratatouille of La Mancha

Combination of black beans and rice

This combination of beans with rice is more classical, a Mediterranean style, than the combination of beans with manioc flour, more in the style of Brazilian cuisine.

Preparation:

• On the one hand, cook the beans with an onion, two bay leaves and salt to taste. And in another saucepan, cook the rice.

When I prepare a dish with black beans or rice, I usually prepare more than I need to make the dish; so the next day I can prepare another combination without much complication in the kitchen.

In the case of black beans, unlike white or pinto beans, I always prepare them alone because the stock from cooking will darken the color of the other ingredients. And in the case of rice, sauté in little extra virgin olive oil to heat it.

To give colorful to the dish and a different flavor: Cut a zucchini and a carrot into small dices and sauté in a little extra virgin olive oil.

 
Ingredients (Serves 4):

 

Note: 

• The quantities and ingredients are always to the taste of the one who prepares the dish. Well, just when preparing this recipe, the vegetables I had at that moment were zucchini and carrots, in addition to the usual onions and garlic bulbs.

 
200 g  black beans ;

1 small  zucchini ; 

1  carrot ; 

2 large onions;

1 coffee cup of brown rice;

  bay leaves ;

  extra virgin olive oil ;

sea salt (to taste). 

 >> see more rice recipes

                   

Lentil Stew with vegetables

Preparation:

In a 3-liter saucepan:       

• Sauté, in extra virgin olive oil, the chopped onion and garlic cloves; then, add a tablespoon of Herbes de Provence (quantity to taste), stir and sauté some minutes.
• Add the lentils, (previously, leave to soak overnight), stir and sauté for some minutes.   
• Cover with water and add a bay leaf (to taste) and sea salt as needed. When it comes to a boil, reduce the heat and let simmer.

Meanwhile:

• Clean the carrots, zucchini and eggplant. 
• In a little extra virgin olive oil sauté the zucchini, eggplant and carrots, cut into small dices. While they are cooking, lightly season with a selection of 5 pepper berries. 
• When lentils are mushy, add the zucchini, eggplant and carrots seasoned with the ground pepper, stir and let it heat up everything, as a whole.

Ingredients: 200 g small brown  lentils  (Pardina or Spanish brown), 1  eggplant  , 1  zucchini  , 2   carrots  , 1  onion ,  3  cloves garlic ,   Herbes de Provence  , 1  bay leaf  ,  extra virgin olive oil  , sea salt.

>> see more stew recipes

                    

Mediterranean Savor: Cream soups with "colorful garnishes".

Small white beans

Green beans

Vegetables

Zucchini

Beetroot (Borsch cream)

Pumpkin (cream made as before)

Red beans