Substitute quinoa for rice for a healthy, hearty version of risotto, or “quinotto!”

Quinoa has been on my mind for two reasons lately.  The first, as I’ve written about here, is that HRH, (my “Handsome Russian Husband”) decided we should go on Orthodox Lent, thereby cutting out meat, fish, dairy, oils, and alcohol.   His mother tried to convince me it isn’t about the food, but if you’d spent the week trying to come up with creative ways to use avocado and applesauce where any right-thinking person would use cream, eggs, and olive oil, you could be forgiven for focusing a bit on the food side of things.

I decided to take my need to beef up (no pun intended, but God I could murder a burger) the grain side of my repertoire to some of you loyal readers.   So, we’ve had a few quinoa classes over at LavkaLavka’s gastro studio, and I think we’ve all become converts!

What is Quinoa?

Packed with more protein and minerals than almost all other foods, quinoa (pronounced “keen-woh”) is an ancient grass, and its seeds were a primary food group in the diet of the ancient Mayans and Azetcs.  Quinoa has an impressive 6,000 year history and today, quinoa is enjoying a roaring return to popularity amongst foodies on at least four continents.  It’s a staple of healthy living and vegetarian lifestyles, as it is wheat and gluten free.

How to Cook Quinoa:

The best way to cook quinoa is to rinse the grains in a sieve, then add 1 1/4-cup of water for each 1 cup of quinoa.  Bring to a rolling boil, then reduce heat and simmer gently until all the liquid is absorbed.  Use a fork to fluff it up.  You will find that the yield for quinoa is 3 cups of cooked quinoa for one cup of uncooked quinoa.  You can keep quinoa in this state for about 4-6 days in a covered container in the fridge.  Add it to vegetable soups or to bulk up a salad.

Recipe for Quinoa:

We’ve talked about this before on the Moscovore: quinoa is seriously bland.  One of our participants described it as “eating cardboard,” which is a fairly accurate portrayal of what just plain quinoa tastes like.  The trick is to infuse it with flavor, as we’ve done before with Orange Sesame Quinoa with Dried Cherries.   I wanted to create a reliable side dish that could stand up on its own for the vegan crowd, but also pair nicely with a chicken, pork or beef.  The obvious choice was what the foodie world is now calling “quinotto,” fusing the idea of risotto with quinoa.

To be honest, there’s not much “otto” about quinotto.  I tried it several ways before I hit the right method.  Adding a little bit of liquid at a time to the grain produced a mushy sticky substance, so instead, I cooked the quinoa and then added it to sautéed onions and mushrooms, and then added more liquid, and finished it with a little cream and some parmesan.   Gone was the cardboard taste!

To add color, texture, and flavor to the quinotto, as well as making it into a one-meal dish, I topped the quinotto with roasted eggplant, peppers, and zucchini. The danger here is that the vegetables can get soggy and float away on a lake of their own juices.  To prevent this, I seeded and cored the eggplant, then salted the  and let it “leech” its bitter juices.   I cored the center of the zucchini where a lot of the water is stored, but I reserved this for the stock bag or Green Soup.  I added peppers for color and crunch, roasted the vegetables, then topped the entire thing with fresh tomatoes and basil.

Prevent vegetables from becoming soggy by removing their core and flash roasting them

The result is a hearty and healthy dish that pairs well with most meat, and can stand stalwartly alone as a one-meal dish!  So, give it a try!

Mushroom Quinotto with Roasted Vegetables

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Serves	8-10
Prep time	45 minutes
Cook time	15 minutes
Total time	1 hour
Dietary	Gluten Free, Vegan
Meal type	Main Dish
Misc	Child Friendly, Pre-preparable, Serve Hot
Occasion	Casual Party
By author	The Moscovore

A healthy twist on traditional risotto, using quinoa, the South American superfood. Lightly roasted vegetables and fresh tomatoes make this a full meal, or hearty side to accompany chicken, fish, beef, or pork, which can be stacked in elegant single portions, or heaped in a bowl for a casual Sunday night or potluck supper.

Ingredients

• (2 cups) 500ml quinoa
• (1-1/4 lbs) 500g dried mushrooms
• (1 cup) 250ml Madiera or Marsala wine
• (3 Tbl) 45ml olive oil
• 1 large yellow onion (finely diced)
• 2 large zucchini (seeded, cored, and sliced into 1/2-inch cubes)
• 2 large eggplant (seeded, cored, and sliced into 1/2-inch cubes)
• 2 large red or orange peppers (seeded, cored, and sliced into 1/2-inch cubes)
• (3 cups) 375ml fresh cherry or plum tomatoes (seeded and cored and chopped into 1/2-inch cubes)
• (1 Tbl) 15ml fresh lemon juice
• 5 cloves garlic (peeled and finely minced with 1/2-tsp of salt)
• 1 bunch fresh basil (chopped)
• salt and pepper
• (1/2-cup) 125ml heavy cream (33%)
• (3/4-cup_ 375ml shaved parmesan cheese

Directions

Prepare the Vegetables
1.	Preheat the oven to 375°F or 190°C. If your oven has a “roast” function, this is the option you should choose.
2.	Place the dried mushrooms in a shallow, non-reactive bowl. Add the wine and top up with boiling water until the mushrooms are completely covered. Use the back of a wooden spoon to force the mushrooms under the liquid. Cover and set aside for 45 minutes.
3.	Top and tail the eggplant, then cut it into thin strips, removing all of the pulpy, seeded inner part of the eggplant. Slice the eggplant strips into ½- inch cubes. Toss with 1 tsp of table salt, then place in a colander and prop up at a slant over a mixing bowl. Leave the eggplant to “sweat” for at least 1 hour.
4.	Top and tail the zucchini as you did the eggplant, removing the softer inner core and retaining for use in pureed soup or smoothie. Toss with 1 tsp of oil, 1 tsp of sea salt and a few grinds of fresh pepper. Spread on a shallow baking dish covered with parchment paper.
5.	Core and cube the red pepper and dice into small ½-inch cubes. Toss with 1 tsp of olive oil and spread on the baking dish with the zucchini.
6.	When it has finished sweating, pat the eggplant dry with paper towel, then toss with 1 tsp of olive oil and a pinch of salt. Arrange the eggplant in the shallow baking dish with the zucchini and peppers, and roast in the oven for 10-15 minutes, until the vegetables are soft. Stir a few times during roasting to ensure the vegetables cook evenly. Set aside.
Prepare the Quinotto
7.	Use a slotted spoon to remove the mushrooms from the water/wine mix, reserving the liquid. Pat dry with paper towels, then chop roughly. Pour the reserved liquid through a clean cloth to eliminate the grit from the mushrooms, then pour into a measuring cup. Top the liquid up with hot water, vegetable or chicken stock until you have 1-1/2 cups.
8.	Rinse the quinoa in cold water. Place in a heavy-bottomed Dutch oven with 2-1/2 cups of cold water and a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and let simmer, covered, for 15 minutes, until the water is completely absorbed. Remove the lid and let sit until the quinoa comes to room temperature. Fork to separate
9.	Heat 1 Tbl of olive oil in a heavy-bottomed Dutch Oven. Sweat the onions until they are translucent. Add the quinoa and toss to combine.
10.	Reduce heat and begin to add the mushroom/stock combination, allowing the quinoa to absorb the liquid. When the quinoa has absorbed as much liquid as possible, fold in the chopped mushrooms. Taste and adjust seasoning, paying particular attention to salt. Add the cream and parmesan and adjust seasoning. Remove to a warm oven while you finish the roasted vegetables.
Finishing the Dish
11.	Heat 1 tsp of olive oil in a shallow skillet. Add the chopped garlic and sauté until it turns golden. Add the roasted vegetables and toss until the vegetables are warmed through. Salt and pepper to taste. Remove to a warm oven
12.	Chop the cherry tomatoes into quarters and place in a non-reactive mixing bowl. Add the lemon juice and the remaining olive oil and toss with a pinch of sea salt and freshly-ground pepper. Shred the basil leaves and toss to combine.
13.	Assemble the dish for immediate serving, either heaped in layers in one large serving dish, or stacked in individual portions: quinotto, topped with roasted vegetables, then the fresh tomatoes.

If you would like to sign up for a cooking workshop, check the listings on the home page of The Moscovore!

Readers, what is your favorite way to serve quinoa?  Have you tried Quinotto?

For more quinoa recipes here on the Moscovore, try:

Orange Sesame Quinoa Salad with Dried Cherries

Lemon Garlic Quinoa with Fresh Asparagus

For more great quinoa recipes from around the web, try some of these:

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• Quinoa Salad with Pesto Vinaigrette
• Give Quinoa An Italian Accent
• Ginger Chicken & Quinoa Stirfry
• Quinoa Salad with Roasted Vegetables, Feta and Pastrami

Welcome to Great Lent, brought to you by the buckwheat lobby!

HRH (my “Horrible Russian Husband”) and I are on Day 10 of Orthodox Lent, and before you scratch your head and ask me why only ten days, when Easter is just hours away, I’ll remind you that this is the Eastern Orthodox Christian calendar, which calculates Easter differently, and this year there is more than a month separating the holidays.  Eastern Orthodox Easter falls on May 6^th.  We have a ways to go yet.

I’ve written before about the origins and traditions of the Lenten Season in Russia, which is sort of the opposite of the Dukan Diet but I’m actually following it for the first time ever this year.   HRH surprised me by saying he wanted to go on the fast this year, more as a physical cleanse than for religious reasons, he explained.  Unlike Catholic Lent, where you commit to giving up one thing you love more than any other, in Orthodox Christianity, you are asked to give up basically everything that makes life worth living:  alcohol, meat, fish with backbones (seriously), eggs, olive oil and dairy products.  You can have shellfish, and if I’m up and about at the moment, it is only because I lunch on raw shrimp.

“Okay,” I said, “I’m game, but you realize that are going to seriously re-think your menu.”

“I know, I know,” he said, with all the confidence of one who has at least two weeks before the start of the ascetic journey.  “No meat and no beer – I can cope.”

“Or dairy,” I reminded him, “and oil, fish and eggs.”

“Really?”  asked HRH.

“Really.” I said.

HRH is not always clear on which ingredients go into what  food, which is the main reason I thought I would go on the fast with him, figuring he would innocently scarf down something like crème caramel without realizing that it is made completely of egg yolks and cream.  HRH is still a bit confused by the restrictions, particularly when he goes outside the protected circle of my kitchen and his VIP Stolovaya at work, where, like many Moscow restaurants, they have a Lenten Menu.

“I’m going to have the chocolate mousse,” he announced as we dined with his parents at a local restaurant Saturday.

“I don’t think that’s what Jesus wants,” I said, shaking my head. “Chocolate mousse has butter and eggs in it.”

“What’s Jesus got to do with it – Jesus isn’t Lent?”

“Isn’t he?” I asked, delighted, as I always am, to catch HRH out on scriptural and doctrinal matters.   Like most Russians today, he talks the good Orthodox talk, but he’s fuzzy on things like the exact definition of Immaculate Conception or the guest list at the Wedding at Cana.  Our conversation about transubstantiation remains my favorite clash, but the forty days in the wilderness was almost as good.

HRH looked in wild confusion at his mother, who purports to be deeply religious.  She, too, looked confused, but deftly shunted the conversation into another topical siding:  “It’s not about the foo-hoooood…” she wailed up and down the musical scale.

“It’s not?” I wondered, regretting all those hours scouring Anne Somerville’s Greens and Maria Speck’s Ancient Grains for Modern Times for inspiration.

“Nooooo,” she wailed, moving into the particularly annoying minor keys of the musical scale, “it’s a spiritual journey.  It’s about cleansing your soul.”

The Disturbing Results of Lenten Fasting:

“Creamy” and “Smooth” during Lent come from avocados.

As I feared, this spiritual diet of ours, consisting primarily of freshly squeezed juice, avocado smoothies and buckwheat, is making us feel wonderful.  HRH and are both sleeping like tanks, our skin is glowing, the dial of the scale is moving in the right direction, and I’m even contemplating leaving dairy off them menu permanently – except of course for triple crème cheese, which I consider to be a separate food group.   Don’t get me wrong, I could murder a rib-eye steak and a gin & tonic most evenings, but the essentially vegan diet is actually manageable.  Who knew?

On weekends and saints day, wine and oil are permitted.

The thing that makes forty days of Lenten Fasting bearable, however, is that you do get some days off from the regimen.

Most weekends and a number of saints days, both wine and oil are permitted, and, really, what more do you need?   A friend and I are considering pushing out the boat this weekend with a meal of McDonald’s French Fries and a bottle of mediocre chardonnay.  Because we can.   These important reprieves, however, seem to be the cause of great confusion, particularly amongst my expat friends who follow the Lenten regime.

“Well, look on the bright side,” I Facebooked one chum dealing with the Cyrprus bank thingy, “you can have wine on Saturday.”

“Don’t tempt me!” he messaged right back.

I’m not tempting him; I’m doing what good culinary columnists do; I’m gently pointing him towards the spiritual loopholes.  Because, clearly,  that’s what Jesus wants.

The Lenten Season Calendar:

Lenten Recipes:

• Journey Into Great Lent (First Saturday): A Foundation for a Lenten Lifestyle
• Levada Centre sez More and More Russians Embrace the Meaning of Lent, But Only 2 Percent Intend to Follow It Strictly
• Lent and Fasting.
• “Giving Up Something” for Lent

Black Beluga Lentils in Tangy Dressing with Fresh Vegetables

This lentil salad reminds me of my favorite grey cashmere cardigan – I can dress it up, I can dress it down, I can wear it anywhere, and it fits me just right.  It never ever lets me down.  So, too this lentil salad, which has evolved over almost three decades, tweaked by my mother and my sister and finally me.  The origins are a similar dish served by a good friend of the family named Louise.  Louise was a lentil zealot – I believe she would have served them over vanilla ice cream if pressed, and I think most of the people at her table would have ate them without putting up a fuss.

About Black Beluga Lentils:

My choice of lentil for this salad is the black “beluga” lentils, called so because they resemble grains of black caviar.  I think they are almost as good.   Beluga lentils are a better choice in a salad than red lentils, used in Red Lentil and Carrot Soup because they hold their shape and have a less gummy flavor that the conventional green lentil.   You can find them easily in Moscow at most supermarkets, or if you are not in Moscow, at better food stores or online.

Black Beluga Lentils and Red Football Lentils

Black Beluga Lentil Salad pairs incredibly well with lamb and game – I don’t think lamb has made one single appearance on my table without them.   When I have them in the fridge, they make a great lunch, topped with poached chicken, roasted vegetables, or goat cheese.   If you want to bulk this salad up, try adding some steamed potatoes and carrots.   They are served at room temperature, so they are one of those reliable dishes you can make ahead of time and whisk to the table without a lot of fuss.

Dear Readers:

What are your favorite ways to eat lentils?  Do you have a favorite dal recipe?  I’m in the market for one!  Let us know by hitting the comment button below.  If you’ve made this recipe — or if you just think it is a great idea, give us a little matriyoshka love below, won’t you?

Try Other Recipes Like This One on The Moscovore:

Wild Rice Salad

Quinoa Salad

Red Lentil and Carrot Soup

Explore More Lentil Recipes Like This One:

• Red Lentil and Carrot Soup
• Recipe: Roasted Beluga Lentil Salad
• Lentil Salad with Feta and Hazelnuts
• How To Cook Lentils on the Stovetop – Cooking Lessons from The Kitchn

Lentil soup is one of those things that can go horribly wrong.   It doesn’t have to.

Tweaking Red Lentil Soup

Unappetizing, grey, watery, and tasteless is the verdict most often hurled at lentil soup.    This is a shame because with just a few extra steps, lentil soup can be a bowl of pure magic.

Choose your lentils carefully:

Bad lentil soup often begins with bad lentils.  Instead of the larger  tough and rubbery green lentils, try the smaller and tastier black or red lentils.  My top choice for a winning lentil soup is always red “football” lentils, which are happily readily available in Moscow at most supermarkets.

Black Beluga Lentils and Red Football Lentils

I’ve developed this recipe over a few years after being very inspired by fellow food blogger Sarah Melamed from the mouthwatering blog Food Bridge.    The success of Sarah’s red lentil soup recipe is not only a great balance of flavor, but attention to the aesthetics of the soup.   She rightly points out that when red lentils cook, they lose their brilliant orange hue and become sludgy beige.  Carrots, red peppers, tomatoes, and tomato paste do stellar work in re-introducing vibrant orange back into the mix.

Puree Half of the Lentil Soup:

Lentil soup to my mind should never be watery, but nor should it be a smooth puree.  There needs to be a balance and a bite.   This is achieved by the use of tomato paste, which helps to bind the ingredients together and by pureeing half of the soup and combining it with the remainder.

Many lentil eaters are committed vegetarians.  This soup can easily be made vegetarian by substituting vegetable stock for chicken stock, though if you are a meat eater, using homemade chicken stock gives Red Lentil Soup a great flavor layer that adds to its success.

If you are a curry fan, by all means, introduce that spice into the mix by the addition of two tablespoons of curry powder with the dried lentils.

To bulk up this soup, add half a cup of cooked quinoa or bulgur.

Red Lentil Soup

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A hearty red lentil soup boosted in color and flavor by carrots, tomatoes and peppers and spiced with coriander, cinnamon and ginger!

Ingredients

• 1 large red onion (peeled and chopped)
• 3 medium sized carrots (peeled and chopped)
• (1 pound) 500 g plum tomatoes (cored, seeded, and chopped)
• (1-1/2 cups) 375 ml red lentils
• 3 cloves garlic (peeled and minced)
• 1 knob ginger (peeled and minced)
• (2 Tbl) 30 ml tomato paste
• (2 tsp) 10 ml cinnamon
• (1 Tbl) 15 ml whole coriander seeds (crushed with a mortar and pestle)
• (1 tsp) 5 ml paprika
• 1 pinch red chili pepper
• 2 red peppers, (cored and chopped)
• (2 Tbl) 30 mlml grated orange zest
• (2 Tbl) 30 ml coarse sea salt
• (2 tsp) 10 ml cracked black pepper
• (1 cup) 250 ml white wine
• (1 quart) 1 l chicken or vegetable stock
• (1/4 cup) 60 ml fresh cilantro and mint (roughly chopped)
• 1 lemon (sliced into wedges)
• (2 Tbl) 30 ml caster sugar

Directions

1.	Heat the olive oil in a heavy bottomed soup pot or Dutch Oven. Saute the onions and garlic gently for five or six minutes. As the onion and garlic begins to soften, sprinkle one tablespoon of the salt over them.
2.	When the onion and garlic are soft and translucent, add the dried lentils and tomato paste and the sugar and stir to combine. Cook gently for three minutes, stirring with a wooden spoon to coat the lentils with the tomato paste.
3.	Pour the white wine over the mixture and bring to a light simmer. Cook for two minutes, allowing the lentils to absorb the liquid.
4.	Add the carrots, tomatoes, ginger, orange zest, and all of the spices. Cook covered for ten minutes.
5.	Add the chicken broth, bring to a boil then cover and cook for 30 minutes or until the lentils are soft.
6.	Divide the soup into two batches. Puree one batch in a blender or with a hand-held mixture until smooth. Combine the two batches and heat though gently.
7.	Serve garnished with fresh cilantro (coriander) and lemon wedges.

Dear Readers,

Are you a lentil fan?  What’s your favorite dish?  Have you endured watery lentil soup?

If you’ve tried and liked this recipe, give it a few matriyoshkas, won’t you?

It’s Certainly Soup Season!  Try Other Recipes Like This One On The Moscovore:

Green Soup

Creamy Mushroom Soup

Butternut Sage Soup

Explore Other Lentil

• Recipe Review: Curried Coconut Lentil Soup
• Greek Red Lentil Soup with Lemon and Rosemary (and How to Save Money as a Vegan)
• Red Lentil, Chickpea & Chilli Soup
• Room Service : Smoky Lentil Soup

Eggplant, Pepper, and Pomegranate Spread

Eggplant is so tactile!

While still on the vine, it is one of nature’s most stunning pantones, cooked; it is musky, pungent, smooth, and satisfying.

Eggplant Recipes Gone Wrong:

Some cooks shy away from eggplant recipes because they believe that it is hard to cook.   Of course, other cooks just forge ahead and cook it without knowing how, like the perspective girlfriend of one of my college mates, a young woman I called “The Vendeuse” so you can imagine.    She was one of those cooks who is just not gifted in the culinary arts, and yet confidentially believes herself to be.  She had me over for one of the longer nights I can remember.    She made eggplant parmesan, which is something I think of as a recipe that you can make ahead of time and then whisk to the table all ready.   Not The Vendeuse.   She spent most of the evening wrestling with the eggplant and the eggplant won.    It was not a pretty sight.  Her eggplant rounds were about 4 inches thick, she did no prep with them, and she used up almost an entire bottle of Wesson’s vegetable oil in her attempts to cook them.  The result was greasy and charred on the outside (a difficult fusion to achieve) and raw on the inside.  Disaster.  The Vendeuse did what anyone would in her situation – she got very drunk on a lot of very bad red wine, and I’m happy to say that my buddy has moved on to someone else who is not a Vendeuse and does not bring bottled salad dressing to the table.  (Shudder).

Taming Eggplant

My go-to technique for eggplant was always roasting until the nice people at Cook’s Illustrated came up with the technique used below.  I found this incredibly liberating!  When I have a fail-safe method, I’m much more inclined to trot out all kinds of recipes with eggplant.

This starter has proved a popular favorite with many guests around The Moscovore Board.   It was one of the first recipes I tried from Silvena Rowe’s new cookbook, “Purple Citrus and Sweet Perfume.”   You know a cookbook is a keeper when you drool as much over the photos as you do over the food.  Silvena’s new book has yielded many more culinary slam-dunks and is high up on my list of cookbook recommendations.  She recently appeared on the authoritative Splendid Table for a visit with Lynn, and you can listen to that audio file here. This interview will resonate with many readers, because she talks about the importance of food in challenging environments such as Eastern Europe!  Give it a listen!

Eggplant, Pepper and Pomegranate Spread is a predictable night out for eggplant with it’s two high school sweethearts, peppers and tomatoes, that gets more interesting when the eggplant meets two exotic strangers:  cilantro and pomegranate.   Not a bottle of Wesson oil in sight!   Serve this before a meal and you can rest assured that your guests will be so content, you will have the time in the world to finish the next course!

A Note on Ingredients:

Look for pomegranate syrup, sumac, and red pepper in the farmers’ markets of Moscow, or, if you are not in Moscow, try Middle Eastern or Khalal Supermarkets.

Eggplant, Pepper, and Pomegranate Spread

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Serves	10
Prep time	35 minutes
Cook time	12 minutes
Total time	47 minutes
Dietary	Vegetarian
Meal type	Appetizer, Side Dish, Snack
Misc	Gourmet, Pre-preparable
Region	European
From book	Purple Citrus and Sweet Perfume by Silvena Rowe

Eggplant teams up with its traditional allies, peppers and tomatoes, but then meets up with some exotic strangers -- pomegranate and cilantro -- in this winning starter!

Ingredients

• 1 large eggplant (cubed)
• (3 Tbl) 45ml coarse sea salt
• (1 tsp) 5 ml crushed red pepper
• (1 tsp) 5 ml paprika
• 1 garlic clove (minced)
• (1/2-tsp) 1 ml ground coriander
• (1/2-tsp) 1 ml ground allspice
• 5 ripe plum tomatoes (seeded, cored, and cubed)
• (2 tsp) 10ml Pomegranate molassas
• 1 ripe pomegranate (seeded (see instructions below for technique))
• (3 Tbl) 45ml fresh cilantro (finely chopped)
• (2 tsp) 10 ml lemon zest

Directions

1.	Wash the eggplant thoroughly, then cut it into ½ inch cubes. Toss the eggplant with the sea salt in a colander, and then set the colander at an angle in a wide bowl or over a draining board. Let the eggplant “sweat” for 1-2 hours.
2.	This next step is game-changing move from the good folks at Cook’s Illustrated. Rinse the eggplant in cold water then pat dry with a paper towel. Arrange the eggplant in a non-metal dish and cover with a clean sheet of paper towel, then process for 2 minutes on medium heat in a microwave oven. Pat dry with a paper towel.
3.	Heat the olive oil in a heavy bottomed Dutch oven on medium high heat then cook the eggplant until brown. Add the red pepper, paprika, coriander, and allspice. Toss to combine, then add the tomatoes and pomegranate syrup.
4.	Reduce heat and simmer until the liquid is evaporated and the eggplant has lost its shape.
5.	Heap the eggplant mixture into a serving dish and let cool to room temperature.
6.	De-seed the pomegranate by slicing it in half. Grasp one of the halves firmly in over a dish and rap the bottom sharply several times with a wooden spoon. Squeeze the pomegranate gently, and let the seeds drop into the dish. Remove all pieces of the white rind. (a great tip from the great Nigella Lawson!)

Explore more recipes like this one from The Moscovore:

Lamb and Shrimp Kebabs

Tomato-Infused Bulgur

Harissa Sauce

Explore more eggplant recipes:

• Burnt Eggplant Dip, A Twist on Baba Ganoush from Yotam Ottolenghi of Plenty
• Garlic Toasted Eggplant and Lentils w/Greens
• Today’s Recipe: Rolled Eggplant with Sausage and Mozzarella
• Today’s Recipe: Pomegranate-Glazed Lamb Chops

Tomato-Infused Bulgur with Basil

What is Bulgur?

You know what bulgur is if you’ve ever enjoyed tabbouleh – it’s that nutty grain that nestles between cucumbers and cherry tomatoes in the classic Mediterranean salad.

Uncooked Bulgur (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Leading grain expert and author of “Ancient Grains for Modern Meals,” Maria Speck describes bulgur:

Where to buy bulgur in Moscow?

Bulgur Wheat sold in Moscow supermarkets

Once designated to the realms of culinary fantasy or the bottom of the suitcase, bulgur is today refreshingly easy to find.  Look for the distinctive black packaging of this packet of bulgur in your local supermarket in the rice and pasta section.   Consult your Moscovore shopping lists for translation and transliteration!   I

How to cook bulgur?

Cooking bulgur is very simple.   You can either soak it overnight in a 1:5 ratio of grain to cold water, if you are pressed for time, toast the grains lightly in a skim of olive oil and then add water and simmer until the grains have absorbed all the water.   The ratio of this method is 1 cup of grain to 1-1/4 cup of water and will yield 3 cups.

Tomato-Infused Bulgur with Basil

I’ve lived in Moscow for almost 20 years and I have a pantry – ergo – I’m a stockpiler.  I can’t help it.  If I see something like wild rice or quinoa I throw all of the packages into my supermarket trolley.  Somehow, I ended up with a lot of bulgur in my pantry and even I can’t eat that much tabbouleh.   Maria Speck to the rescue again with this delicious riff on rice pilaf.  The bulgur teams up beautifully with that perennial late summer couple – tomato and basil.  They are practically giving plum tomatoes away at the moment, so go for those and give this salad a try.  It’s a wonderful barbecue or picnic side, it pairs wonderfully well with shrimp, chicken, beef and works very well alongside spinach, avocado, eggplant and zucchini.  Topped with feta or goat cheese, it’s a meal!

Tomato-Infused Bulgur with Basil

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Serves	6
Prep time	30 minutes
Cook time	20 minutes
Total time	50 minutes
Allergy	Wheat
Dietary	Vegan, Vegetarian
Meal type	Lunch, Salad, Side Dish
Misc	Child Friendly
Region	Greek
From book	Ancient Grains For Modern Meals by Maria Speck

The Moscovore combines plum tomatoes and fresh basil with coarse bulgur in this riff on rice pilaf.

Ingredients

• (1 Tbl) 15ml olive or vegetable oil
• 1 red onion (peeled, and diced into small pieces)
• 2 cloves garlic
• (1 tsp) 5 ml sea salt
• (2 Tbl) 30 ml tomato paste
• (1 Tbl) 15 ml sugar
• (1/2 cup) 125 ml red wine
• (1 cup) 250 ml chicken or vegetable broth
• (1 lb) 500 g ripe plum tomatoes (seeded, cored, and cubed)
• (1 cup) 250 ml bulgur (medium to coarse works best)
• 4 bunches fresh basil (roughly chopped)
• (1/4-cup) 60 ml goat or feta cheese (crumbled)

Directions

1.	Heat the olive oil in a deep skillet or Dutch Oven over medium heat until it is shimmering. Add the onion and garlic and a pinch of the salt until the aromatics are soft and beginning to brown (3-5 minutes).
2.	Add the tomato paste and sugar and cook over medium heat until the paste begins to turn brown in color.
3.	Add the wine and use the back of a wooden spoon to scrape up the bits on the bottom of the skillet as the wine quickly evaporates.
4.	Add the stock, tomatoes and bulgur and stir to combine as you bring the mixture to a gentle boil.
5.	Lower the heat to medium low to achieve a steady simmer, then cover and cook until the liquid is completely absorbed. You can add water if necessary, but be sure to do so in small amounts to avoid a soupy consistency. Taste and adjust seasoning by adding more salt if you need it. Remove from heat, cover and set aside for five minutes.
6.	Toss the bulgur with half of the basil and top with crumbled feta or goat cheese. Good hot or at room temperature.

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Quinoa: the 6,000 Year-Old Miracle Food!

The Moscovore’s Quinoa Salad with Orange Sesame Vinaigrette and Dried Cherries

Packed with more protein and minerals than almost all other foods, quinoa (pronounced “keen-woh”) is an ancient grass, and its seeds were a primary food group in the diet of the ancient Mayans and Azetcs.  Today, quinoa is enjoying a roaring return to popularity amongst foodies on at least four continents.  It’s a staple of healthy living and vegetarian lifestyles, as it is wheat and gluten free.

Quinoa is not a grass, but its seeds have been eaten for 6000 years. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

In the past few years, quinoa has graced the menus of 5* restaurants and elementary school lunch boxes alike.   Quinoa is ubiquitous!  You find it in muffins, inside a turkey on Thanksgiving, alongside kale in a Co-op salad bar, and on the “A” shelf in the grain section.   You can buy quinoa flour and quinoa pasta.  Where I come from in the United States, there are even quinoa burgers (I like quinoa, but that seems excessive.)  There is red quinoa and black quinoa and plain old beige quinoa.

Quinoa Needs Help!

I’ll be honest with you – quinoa is great, but not on its own.  I think of it as an oboe  – pleasant yet dull as a solo instrument,but  so much better in an ensemble!   The grains are very absorbent and so lend themselves beautifully  to dressings and vinaigrettes.   Because quinoa has a distinctively nutty and earthy flavor, I find it best to introduce opposing flavors to set it off.  Citrus is a natural choice, as is ginger, sesame, garlic, and onion.  They all show up in this easy and versatile quinoa salad, which is perfect as a side dish, ideal as ballast and heft to a green salad, or satisfying just on its own for a quick and nutritious snack or lunch.

Quinoa Pairs Well!

Quinoa is a natural accompaniment to all game, poultry, and some fish.  It makes a great canvas to roasted vegetable and a reliable partner for legumes — notably chick peas and lentils.  My rule of thumb is:  the meatier your meat, the lighter your dressing should be.  Try the recipe below with turkey, chicken, or shrimp.

Where To Buy Quinoa in Moscow?

Azbukha Vkusa carries quinoa, as does Metro Cash & Carry.    Consult The Moscovore’s bi-lingual shopping lists for Russian translations of the ingredients in this salad.

Orange Sesame Quinoa Salad with Dried Cherries:

This salad, partially inspired by Whole Food’s version with lemon, dill, and cranberry owes much as well to Maria Speck’s wonderful cookbook, “Ancient Grains for Modern Meals,” which I enthusiastically recommend for anyone looking to explore the world of grains further.  It  can  be served molded for an elegant presentation, or just heaped in a serving dish, garnished with bright green cilantro and mint and the accent black of toasted sesame seeds!

Mold Orange Sesame Quinoa Salad for an Elegant Presentation

Orange Sesame Quinoa

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Serves	12
Prep time	45 minutes
Cook time	25 minutes
Total time	1 hours, 10 minutes
Dietary	Vegan, Vegetarian
Meal type	Appetizer, Lunch, Salad, Side Dish
Occasion	Barbecue, Casual Party, Thanksgiving
Region	African
From book	Ancient Grains for Modern Meals

The nutty, earthy flavor of quinoa is paired with a tangy citrus vinaigrette and punctuated with both dried cherries and scallions. The perfect pairing for fish, game, poultry, or on its own!

Ingredients

• (1 cup) 250 ml quinoa
• (2 cups) 500 ml water
• (5 oz) 150 g dried cherries
• 1 bunch scallions
• 1 red, yellow or orange pepper (diced)
• (2 Tbl) 30 ml olive or vegetable oil

Vinaigrette

• (1/3 cup) 75 ml sherry vinegar
• (1/3 cup) 75 ml sesame oil
• 1 orange (zested, then juiced )
• (1/3 cup) 75 ml olive oil
• 1 knob fresh ginger (peeled and grated)
• (1 Tbl) 15 ml sumac (available at the farmers' markets of Moscow or Middle Eastern or Khalal foodstores)
• (1 Tbl) 15 ml sea salt
• (2 Tbl) 30 ml coriander seeds (crushed with a mortar and pestle)
• (1/4 teaspoon) 1 ml ground cinnamon

Garnish

• (1/3 cup) 75 ml fresh mint (roughly chopped)
• (1/3 cup) 75 ml fresh coriander (cilantro) (roughly chopped)
• (2 Tbl) 30 ml black sesame seeds (toasted)

Directions

1.	Prepare the vinaigrette: Place all of the Vinaigrette ingredients into a food processor fitted with a steel blade or in and process for 10-20 seconds until well combined. You can also use a hand-held mixer. Set aside.
2.	Heat the 2 Tbl (30 ml) or olive or vegetable oil in a deep skillet or Dutch Oven over moderate heat. Add the scallions and a pinch of sea salt and cook for approximately 1-1/2 minutes until the scallions are soft.
3.	Add the quinoa and stir with the back of a wooden spoon to ensure that the grains are thoroughly coated with the oil. Take care that they do not brown. You will know the grains have been toasted sufficiently when they begin to emit a nutty odor and the occasional grain "pops."
4.	Add the water and cherries and the remaining salt and bring to a slow boil. Immediately reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, until all of the water is absorbed by the quinoa. Use a fork to "fluff" the quinoa.
5.	Decant 1/4-cup of the vinaigrette and set aside. Add the remainder to the quinoa and toss to combine. Tent loosely with tin foil or a clean tea towel and let sit for 20-30 minutes. The quinoa will absorb the vinaigrette, so don't worry if it seems a bit soupy at first.
6.	Prior to serving, toss the quinoa with the remaining 1/4-cup of vinaigrette, the diced peppers. Serve molded or just heaped in a serving dish, garnished with cilantro, mint and sesame seeds.
7.	Prior to serving, toss the quinoa with the remaining 1/4-cup of vinaigrette, the diced peppers. Serve molded or just heaped in a serving dish, garnished with cilantro, mint and sesame seeds.
8.	Prior to serving, toss the quinoa with the remaining 1/4-cup of vinaigrette, the diced peppers. Serve molded or just heaped in a serving dish, garnished with cilantro, mint and sesame seeds.

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Lent is not the best time of year to be in the food business in Russia. 

As late winter makes its agonizing way towards early spring, Russian Orthodox Christians are preparing for the 40-day fast known as “Great Lent,” the most significant of the four great fasts the Church observes.   Great Lent follows the traditionally boisterous 7-day “Butter Week” or Maslinitsa, which is Russia’s version of Carnival or Mardi Gras, characterized by colorful costumes, games, and the ubiquitous pancakes cooked in rich butter, which symbolize the sun and everlasting life.  Great Lent, in contrast, is a quieter, more contemplative period of sober reflection.  The interiors of churches are darkened, and the clergy don more sober vestments of purple and burgundy.  Liturgical music, in its turn, becomes more somber, slow paced and based in the minor keys.  During Great Lent the faithful abstain from certain behaviors, pastimes, and many foods in commemoration of Christ’s 40-day sojourn in the wilderness, and in preparation for the triumphant celebration of his death and resurrection during Holy Week, which culminates in Easter.

“Coming after Maslinitsa, Great Lent is a good wake up call to get us back into spiritual shape,” explains The Very Reverend Archimandrite Zacchaeus (Wood) – Dean of the Church of St. Catherine the Great Martyr in-the-Fields. “The Church in her wisdom shows us that the spiritual and physical are uniquely connected.  If a person doesn’t physically fast during Lent, it is difficult for him to feast spiritually during Easter.”

While Great Lent is firmly rooted in the Christian tradition, and its tenants were established by the Church fathers in the Middle East, the fast seems also to be in harmony with the more ancient rhythms of the Northern European agrarian calendar.  Fasting and semi-hibernation in late winter was a fact of life for Russians until comparatively recently.   Winter stores of meat and fish dwindled, and dairy products usually appeared only after spring calving or lambing. This left rural Russians with a staple diet of root vegetables such as carrots, potatoes, beets, and turnips, and grains.  Great Lent runs along these lines.   Meat, dairy, fish, alcohol, and olive oil are all forbidden.

In the last decade, Russians have embraced Great Lent wholeheartedly, many recognizing both the spiritual and the physical benefits of the 40-day ritual.  Restaurants and cafes have discovered a commercial upside to Great Lent in the successful Lenten menus they offer to their customers during this period.

Still, coming up with menu options that don’t include meat, dairy, or oils seems like hard work to me. The agnostic chef in me is looking for loopholes, and there are some: eggs and other oils such as vegetable and canola are definite grey areas, and shellfish is permitted.

“Okay, technically you can have a wonderful meal of lobster with drawn margarine,” admits Father Zacchaeus with a smile when I press him, but he is at pains to explain that fiddling ingredients is not what Lent is all about.  Nor, he cautions, should Lent should be seen, as many do in Russia, merely as an effective way to take off a few pounds before bikini season.  “It’s not a diet,” he explains, “it’s an ascetic effort.”

Duly chastised, I set out to make two traditional Lenten dishes according to the tenants set down by the Church and I am delighted with the results!

Lenten Mushroom & Potato Soup

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Serves	6
Prep time	1 hour
Cook time	30 minutes
Total time	1 hour, 30 minutes
Region	European
By author	The Moscovore

Take dairy, meat, olive oil, eggs, and alcohol off the table for 40 days and what's left? The Moscovore takes up the challenge of Russian Orthodox Lent with this delicious Lenten mushroom soup!

Ingredients

• (1 cup) 250 ml shallots or yellow onions, finely diced
• (4-1/2 oz) 125 g dried mushrooms such as shitake, morels, chanterelles
• (1 Tbl) 15 ml vegetable oil or butter substitute
• (2-1/4) 1 kg fresh white mushrooms
• 3 large carrots (peeled and diced)
• 3 potatoes (peeled and diced)
• 2-3 leeks (diced)
• 2 garlic cloves (mashed)
• (2 cups) 500 ml water
• (1 qt) 1 l mushroom or vegetable stock
• (2 Tbl) 30 ml ml parsley (finely chopped)
• (2 Tbl) 30 ml fresh thyme (finely diced)
• (4 Tbl) 60 ml fresh lemon juice
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1.	Clean the dried mushrooms under cold running water then set them to soak in the boiling water and lemon juice. Stir frequently to ensure the mushrooms absorb the liquid on all sides. Set aside.
2.	Trim the fresh mushrooms, wipe off dirt from the caps. Slice.
3.	Heat the oil in heavy-bottomed soup pot or Dutch oven until it bubbles. Add the shallots and sauté until they are golden. Add the garlic and stir for 1 minute. Add the leeks and sauté the mixture of aromatics for approximately 10 minutes, stirring frequently.
4.	Add the fresh mushrooms and cook, uncovered, for 20 minutes.
5.	Extract the re-hydrated mushrooms from the hot water with a slotted spoon and add to the pot. Strain the water through a fine mesh or cheesecloth to eliminate the grit, and then add the liquid to the pot.
6.	Add the diced carrots and potatoes, stock and water to the pot. Reduce heat and simmer for 45 minutes until the vegetables are tender.
7.	. Process the hot soup in batches in a blender or food processor until it is the desired consistency. The starch from the potatoes thickens the broth, and I like to leave a few chunks of carrot and mushroom, rather than pureeing the soup into a creamy mixture. This is up to you!
8.	Return soup to the pot, add the remaining ingredients. Taste and adjust seasoning.

Note

Take dairy, meat, olive oil, eggs, and alcohol off the table for 40 days and what's left?  The Moscovore takes up the challenge of Russian Orthodox Lent with this delicious Lenten mushroom soup!

 

Lenten Potato & Buckwheat Olad’i

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When Orthodox Lent removes dairy, meat, olive oil and alcohol there isn't much left! The Moscovore takes up the challenge of Great Lent!

Ingredients

• (1.1 lbs) 500 g potatoes, peeled
• (1/2-lb) 250 g zucchini, grated
• (1 package or 2-1/2 tsp) 12 ml active dry yeast
• (2/3 cup) 150 ml warm water
• (3.5 oz) 100 g buckwheat flour
• 1 egg and 1 egg yolk (eggs are a grey area during Great Lent. Some parishes allow them, others don't. If you are hard core and want to eliminate the eggs, substitute 1/3 cup or 75 ml of butter substitute)
• (2 Tbl) 30 ml fresh parsley, chopped
• (1 Tbl) 15 ml lemon zest
• (1 tsp) 5 ml sweet paprika
• (1 tsp) 5 ml nutmeg
• salt and pepper to taste
• vegetable oil for frying
• 1 raw potato, halved

Directions

1.	1. Peel the potatoes, and then parboil them in salted water until soft. Mash gently or pass through a ricer.
2.	Seed and core the zucchini, then grate coarsely, using a hand held grater or in a food processor.
3.	Beat the egg and egg yolk together. (If you are using the margarine, soften with the back of a fork.)
4.	Dissolve the yeast in the warm water, and then add the flour, potato, zucchini, and all the other ingredients except the oil. Cover with a damp cloth and set in a warm place to rise (about 30-40 minutes).
5.	Heat a non-stick skillet over medium heat. Insert a fork into the skin side of a potato half. Dip the potato into vegetable oil, then rub it on the surface of the skillet. Ladle out the olad’i in ¼ cup batches and fry over high heat, turning once when golden brown.

This post first appeared in French in La Russie d’Aujourd’hui and Le Figaro on February 15, 2012 under the title: “Le Grand Careme, un defi pour l’omnivore.”  A link to the e-paper version of this article can be found here.

recipe photos courtesy of Shutterstock

A vibrant green, deliciously tart and tangy Middle Eastern sauce.Try this as an accompaniment to beef, lamb, chicken or fish, or just slather it on crusty bread.   Make as much as you need the day you plan to use it to ensure that all the flavors are fresh and at the top of their game!

Green Harissa

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Prep time	10 minutes
Region	Turkish
Website	Silvana Rowe in bon Appetit, July 2011

Ingredients

• (1 cup) 250 ml fresh cilantro, chopped
• (1 cup) 250 ml fresh baby spinach, stems removed
• (1/4 cup) 60 ml fresh mint leaves, 1 bunch, stems removed
• (1/4 cup) 60ml flat Italian parsley, chopped
• (1/2 cup) 125 ml extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 serrano chile, seeded and minced
• (1/4 tsp) 1 ml ground coriander
• (1/4 tsp) 1 ml ground cumin
• kosher salt
• 3 garlic cloves, peeled and minced

Directions

1.	Combine all the ingredients in a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Combine until smooth.
2.	Taste, and adjust seasoning with kosher salt.

Serve, and enjoy!

My friend Dee Dee is test-driving Veganism with impressive results.  She feels better: she claims she has more energy and is sleeping better.  Her matchless complexion glows even more, her eyes sparkle, and she seems to be very fit.  So, in an effort to support her, and maybe go so far as to emulate her a bit, here is a Vegan-friendly rice dish that is easy to make, delicious to eat, and very handy for things like brown bagging it to work as well as entertaining since it can be made well ahead of time and assembled quickly.  The nutty flavor of the wild rice makes a nice contrast to the lemon and garlic vinaigrette, accented by the crunchy vegetables.  Toasted pine nuts complete the dish with their own musky flavor.

Dee Dee reminded me that vegans, “don’t eat anything with eyes,” which is an excellent way to remember the dos and don’ts of that lifestyle.  Grains, therefore, play a big part in their diet, particularly those grains high in protein such as quinoa.  Feel free to adapt this recipe to the grain of your choice.  If you are into eating things with eyes, this dish is a marvelous accompaniment to poultry, meat, fish, or just on its own with a little feta cheese cut up in it.

Wild Rice

Wild rice is easy to find in Moscow: it is available at most supermarkets, at the markets, and at the wonderful Indian Spice shops.  Store it in a vacuum-sealed container after you open the packet.

Wild rice cooks longer than shorter-grained rice and requires more water. The yield is high:  one cup of dried wild rice produces between 3 and 4 cups of cooked rice.  Use a ratio of 1:5 rice and water, and allow for at least 45 minutes to simmer.  Rice is done when the kernels have “popped” open, revealing their white insides.  Wild rice is chewier than short grain white rice.

Wild Rice Salad

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Serves	12
Prep time	45 minutes
Cook time	45 minutes
Total time	1 hours, 30 minutes

Ingredients

• (3 cups) 700ml cooked wild rice (yield: 1 cup of dry rice will produce 3-4 cups of cooked rice)
• (1 cup) 250 ml olive oil
• (1 Tablespoon) 15 ml lemon zest
• (1/2 cup) 125 ml fresh lemon juice
• (3 Tablespoons) 45ml red wine vinegar
• 4 garlic cloves, crushed and chopped with salt
• (1 Tablespoon) 15 ml coarse sea salt
• 3 peppers (red, yellow or orange), cored and diced
• (1/2 cup) 125 ml toasted pine nuts
• 1 bunch fresh dill
• 1 bunch Flat parsley, coarsely chopped
• 1 bunch scallions, sliced thinly

Directions

1.	Cook the rice: combine 5 cups/1.25 liters of salted water and 1 cup/125 ml of dry wild rice. Simmer for 45 minutes until the rice kernels "pop" and you see their white insides.
2.	While the rice is cooking, combine the olive oil, vinegar, lemon juice, lemon zest, garlic and sea salt in a lidded jar. Shake vigorously to combine.
3.	Drain the rice and return to the pot. Pour the dressing over the rice and toss to coat the rice. Cover and allow the rice to absorb the dressing. Feel free to make more if you feel the rice is dry. Cool to room temperature.
4.	Toast the pine nuts over moderate heat in a skillet until just brown. Add to the rice. Add peppers, scallions, dill and parsley. Toss to combine. Serve at room temperature.

Serve, and enjoy!

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Have you tried a “no eyes” diet?  What were your impressions?