Quinoa, Wheat Berry and Chickpea Salad

This Sunday's Fairmount Neighborhood Farmers Market you can look forward to the following offerings from Sweetwater Farm and Fair Valley Farm:

• Delicata and Sweet Dumpling winter squash (try this salad)
• Cauliflower (delicious roasted)
• Stanley prune plums and Italian prune plums
• cantaloupe and honeydew mellons
• Carrots and radishes (try these buttery radishes with mint)
• One last round of green beans (from SLO Farm) 
• variety of tomatoes; 10 lb flats of San Marzano romas for $15 (freeze for winter)
• variety of sweet and spicy peppers
• kohlrabi (delicious raw in a lemon caper salad)
• variety of cabbages, kale, collards, and greens (make some collards and beans)
• broccoli and eggplants (try a roasted salad)
• lettuces and baby lettuce salad mix
• zucchini and summer squash
• variety of potatoes including bargain bags of red potatoes
• sweet onions, green onions, garlic, and leeks
• fresh herbs, including basil, cilantro, dill, thyme, oregano, and sage
• tomato sauce and pesto
• naturally fermented pickles, dilly beans, and sauerkraut
• homemade jams (delicious in crepes)
• Scottish oats (make this teff oatmeal)
• a selection of dried beans and grains from Camas Country Mill
• pastured chicken (try spatchcocked)
• pastured pork: pork chops, shoulder roasts, and ham roasts
• pastured lamb: ground, rib chops, and leg roasts (grill some burgers)

A few weeks ago we enjoyed a belated anniversary meal at Koho Bistro and had a delicious dish from the "Leaves and Weeds" section of their menu that I was inspired to recreate at home as the backdrop for Sweetwater Farm's sweetest of sweet cherry tomatoes. Their dish was a veritable cornucopia of grains and beans: wheat berries, barley, wild rice, quinoa, and chickpeas, all cooked separately with care. 

Without a restaurant kitchen staff on hand, I decided to pare this list down to chickpeas, a small grain like quinoa, and a large grain like wheat berries or barley. Despite the stack of pots it generates, this combination is definitely worth making and having on hand as an inspiration for quick lunches and dinners. The chickpeas are earthy, and the wheat berries and quinoa adds different notes of nuttiness. Like the Koho dish, I added toasted almonds and goats cheese. For this summer version, I added parsley and cherry tomatoes, but the grains and chickpeas lend themselves to infinite variations through the seasons, such as with roasted eggplant or delicata squash, or the green bean and red pepper version below. I'm sure these beans and grains complement each other nutritionally, but what's impressive is how well they complement each other in flavor, making a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts. 

Quinoa, Wheat Berry, and Chickpea Salad

cherry tomato version
1 cup dried chickpeas
1 cup dried wheat berries (or substitute barley)
3/4 cup dried quinoa
1/2 cup toasted slivered almonds
1 pint cherry tomatoes, rinsed
6 ounces feta cheese, cut into small cubes
1/2 cup flat parsley leaves, rinsed and chopped
1 large lemon
1 tsp pomegranate molasses or a honey
2 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
salt to taste

1. If you remember, soak both the chickpeas and the wheat berries separately overnight. For each, rinse and place in 2.5 cups fresh water and simmer on low until they are soft, about 2 hours. Salt generously and strain if necessary. Cook the quinoa on a low simmer in 1.5 cups fresh water for about 15 minutes until it releases its halos and the water is absorbed. Combine the cooked chickpeas and grains into a large serving bowl.

2. Mix the dressing of juice and zest from one lemon, pomegranate molasses or honey, rice wine vinegar, olive oil, and salt to taste. Toss into the grains.

3. Toss the dressed grains with the slivered almonds, cherry tomatoes, feta cheese and parsley leaves. Taste and adjust seasoning. Enjoy the salad on its own, or layer it on tender greens.

green bean and red pepper version
for slivered almonds, substitute whole almonds toasted with 1 Tbsp olive oil and 1 tsp smoked paprika;
for cherry tomatoes, substitute cooked green beans and chopped roasted red peppers;
for the feta cheese, substitute cubed aged gouda
for the rice wine vinegar, substitute sherry vinegar, and omit the molasses or honey.

Kale, Beet, and Quinoa Salad for the First Spring Market

Hooray! Mark your calendars because the start date for the 2011 Fairmount Neighborhood Farmers Market is set for Sunday April 17th! Celebrate having filed your taxes by coming down to the corner of Agate and 19th Street between 10 am and 2:30 pm for some early spring produce. In honor of this auspicious news, here's a warm salad with some ingredients one might expect to find at the market: kale and beets.

This recipe starts with the rich colors of black and red quinoa (ever since a pantry shortage last summer, I've been making mixtures of different colored quinoa, or "confetti quinoa"). I paired the grain with a similar pallet of vegetables: purple kale and red beets. For a hearty salad, I decided to experiment with roasting both the kale and the beets, each with its own allium, to contrast how the different vegetables react to high heat.

To prepare the beets, I peeled and chopped them, along with a couple of shallots, and tossed them in olive oil, salt and pepper. Then I roasted them for about 30 minutes, until the beets were tender and the shallots had started to caramelize.

Meanwhile I cut the kale leaves from the hard stalks, tossed them with chopped garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper, and added them to the hot oven for about 15 minutes, until they just started to brown around the edges.

The toasted, garlicy kale became the crisp base of the salad onto which I layered the quinoa and sweet, soft beets, tossed in a vinaigrette made from the roasted shallots. I finished the salad with a sprinkle of sharp feta, for added richness. Served warm, this would make a delicious post Farmers Market lunch.

Warm Quinoa Salad with Roasted Beets and Kale

For the salad:

• 1 bunch purple kale
• 2-3 cloves garlic
• 6 medium sized red beets
• 1/2 cup red quinoa
• 1/2 cup black quinoa
• 1 1/4 cup water
• olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste
• 3 ounces crumbled feta cheese

For the dressing:

• 2 shallots
• 3 tablespoons sherry vinegar
• 3 tablespoons water
• 1/4 teaspoon sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon smoked paprika
• salt to taste

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Peel the beets and cut into approximately 1 inch chunks (about 8 pieces per medium-sized beet). Peel the shallots and cut into similarly sized pieces (about 4 pieces per shallot). Put in a baking pan, drizzle with some olive oil to coat, sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste, and roast in the oven for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the beets are soft.
2. Meanwhile, cut or rip the kale leaves from their thick stems, and rip into bite sized pieces. Mince the garlic cloves. Place the kale leaves and garlic in a large casserole dish, pour on enough oil to coat, plenty of salt, and pepper to taste, and toss well. Roast the kale leaves in the oven for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until they smell toasty and start to brown on the edges.
3. Meanwhile, cook the quinoa. Heat a cooking pot until you can feel the heat radiating from the bottom when you hold your hand at the top of the pan. Add the quinoa and toast for about 5 minutes, shaking the pot frequently, until you can smell the toasting grain. Add 1 1/4 cup water, bring to a simmer, reduce the heat to low, and simmer partially covered for about 15 minutes until all of the water is absorbed and the quinoa grains have released their little halos.
4. When the beets are ready, remove the shallot pieces to a mini or regular sized food processor or blender. Transfer the beets to a bowl and mix with the cooked quinoa. Deglaze the hot pan in which you roasted the beets and shallots with the sherry vinegar and transfer to the processor. Add the water, sugar, and smoked paprika and blend until smooth. Stir into the quinoa and beet mixture.
5. Assemble the salad. Plate a bed of toasted kale, then spoon on the quinoa and beets, and finally sprinkle over the feta cheese. Serve warm.