Super Natural Every Day (17 page)

Little Quinoa Patties

GOAT’S CHEESE, GARLIC, HERBS

Anytime I have left-over cooked quinoa, I make these little patties. They’re good hot or cold and are well suited to fighting afternoon hunger pangs. It’s a bit of a stretch, but they could be described as a (very) distant cousin of arancini , Italy’s beloved deep-fried risotto balls. In contrast, these are pan-fried in a touch of oil, and smushed flat in the pan to get as much surface browning and crust as possible. I’m including my basic version, but often times I’ll add a handful of very finely chopped this-or-that: broccoli, asparagus, or cauliflower, depending on the season. They’re great on their own, slathered with ripe avocado or drizzled with hot sauce.

340 g cooked quinoa (see
box
), at room temperature

4 large eggs, beaten

½ teaspoon fine sea salt

15 g fresh chives, snipped 1 brown or white onion, finely chopped

15 g freshly grated parmesan or Gruyère cheese

3 garlic cloves, finely chopped

100 g wholegrain breadcrumbs, plus more if needed

Water, if needed

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil or

20 g
Clarified Butter

Combine the quinoa, eggs, and salt in a medium bowl. Stir in the chives, onion, cheese, and garlic. Add the breadcrumbs, stir, and set aside for a few minutes so the crumbs can absorb some of the moisture. At this point, you should have a mixture you can easily form into twelve 2.5 cm-thick patties. I err on the very moist side because it makes for a not-overly-dry patty, but you can add more breadcrumbs, a bit at a time, to firm up the mixture, if need be. Conversely, a bit more beaten egg or water can be used to moisten the mixture.

Heat the oil in a large, heavy-based frying pan over medium–low heat, add 6 patties, if they’ll fit with some room between each, cover, and cook for 7–10 minutes, until the bases are deeply browned. Turn up the heat if there is no browning after 10 minutes and continue to cook until the patties are browned. Carefully flip the patties with a spatula and cook the second sides for 7 minutes, or until golden. Remove from the frying pan and cool on a wire rack while you cook the remaining patties. Alternatively, the quinoa mixture keeps nicely in the refrigerator for a few days; you can cook patties to order, if you prefer.

MAKES 12 LITTLE PATTIES

Popcorn

MUSTARD, THYME, CHIVES, BUTTER

Here, I like to work the flavour of dijon mustard and brown butter into a big shared bowl of popcorn—and then really pile on the fresh herbs. The lively green notes of the chives and thyme play nicely off the assertiveness of the mustard butter.

80 g
Clarified Butter
or 80 ml extra-virgin olive oil

140 g popcorn kernels

70 g unsalted butter

2 tablespoons dijon mustard

Scant ½ teaspoon fine sea salt

1 bunch fresh chives, snipped

1 teaspoon fresh thyme

Heat the clarified butter in a deep, heavy-based saucepan over medium heat. Add a few popcorn kernels to the pan and cover. Once they pop, add the remaining kernels and shake the pot until they cover the base of the pan evenly. Place the lid on the pan, leaving just a sliver of a crack, and shake intermittently while the popcorn pops, until there is a 5-second pause between pops. Remove the popcorn from the heat and transfer all the popped corn to a bowl, leaving any unpopped kernels behind.

In the meantime, melt the unsalted butter over medium heat and let it sizzle away until it has browned a bit and is fragrant. Whisk in the mustard and salt.

Pour one-third of the mustard butter over the popcorn and toss well, about 1 minute. I find salad servers come in handy here. Add about half of the remaining mustard butter and toss for another minute. Taste, decide if you want more butter, and if you do, add to taste. Sprinkle with the chives and thyme and toss one last time.

SERVES 4–6

Farro Soup

CURRY POWDER, LENTILS, SALTED LEMON YOGHURT

	I have a feisty, spicy Madras curry powder I like to use in this soup, but feel free to experiment or just use your favourite Indian curry powder.
If you’re worried about the spices being too strong, start by using half the amount called for, and add more to taste before serving. Alternatively, you can skip the curry powder altogether and add a few handfuls of well-chopped kale and a bunch of chives to the hot soup instead.
You can use whole or semi-pearled farro, but semi-pearled farro is easier to come by. When using the latter, reduce the cooking time to about 25 minutes. Leftovers freeze well after cooling.