Recipes Superfoods - April 2011

Roasted Orange and Soy Salmon

adapted from Bon Appétit, April 2003

Serves 4

If served with some steamed or roasted broccoli, this packs a superfood punch on one plate, since salmon and broccoli are two of the top 10 superfoods.

50 ml orange juice
50 ml soy sauce
50 ml dry white wine
4 x 170 g salmon fillets, with skin

Mix the orange juice, soy sauce and wine in a glass baking dish large enough to hold all the salmon. Place the salmon, skin side up, in the dish. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours, turning occasionally.

Preheat the oven to 230°C. Line a baking sheet with foil or parchment paper. Shake any excess marinade off the salmon. Transfer the salmon to the baking sheet, skin side down. Roast until the fish is opaque in the center, about 14 minutes. Sprinkle the salmon with salt and transfer to plates.

Moroccan Squash and Carrot Stew with Quinoa

adapted from Bon Appétit, January 2006

Serves 6

Don’t be put off by the long list of ingredients – it’s really just a lot of spices. You can find quinoa in health food stores or larger grocery stores.

For the stew:

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, chopped
2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
250 ml water
1 x 400 g tin chopped tomatoes, drained
5 to 7 carrots, peeled and cut into 3/4-inch cubes
1 butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes

for the quinoa:

170 g quinoa
15 g butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 medium carrot, peeled and finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
475 ml water
1 x 15 g pack of fresh coriander, chopped

To make the stew, heat the oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat. Add the onion and sauté until soft, stirring often, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and stir for 1 minute. Mix in the spices, then add the water and the tomatoes. Bring to a boil. Add the carrots and squash. Cover and simmer over a medium-low heat until the vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally, about 20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. (This can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and chill.)

To make the quinoa, rinse the quinoa and drain. Melt the butter with the oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat. Add the onion and carrot. Cover and cook until the vegetables begin to brown, stirring often, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic, salt, and turmeric and sauté for 1 minute. Add the quinoa and stir for 1 minute. Add the water and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low. Cover and simmer until the liquid is absorbed and the quinoa is tender, about 15 minutes.

To serve, rewarm the stew and stir in half of the chopped coriander. Spoon the quinoa onto a platter, forming a well in the center. Spoon the stew into the well. Sprinkle with the remaining coriander.

Blueberry Crumb Bars

adapted from SmittenKitchen.com

Makes approx. 36 small rectangles

Using a food processor to make the dough makes this even easier to pull together.

300 g white sugar, divided
425 g all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
zest and juice of 1 lemon
225 g cold butter, diced
1 egg, lightly beaten
4 teaspoons cornflour
600 g fresh blueberries

Preheat the oven to 190°C. Grease a 9×13-inch pan.

In a medium bowl, stir together 200 g sugar, flour and baking powder. Mix in the salt and lemon zest. Use a fork or pastry cutter to blend in the butter and egg. The dough will be crumbly. (Alternatively, briefly whizz the sugar, flour, baking powder, salt and lemon zest in a food processor just to combine.) Add the butter and egg and blend until a crumbly dough is formed. Pat half of the dough into the prepared pan.

In another bowl, stir together the remaining 100 g sugar, cornflour and lemon juice. Gently mix in the blueberries. Sprinkle the blueberry mixture evenly over the crust. Crumble the remaining dough over the berry layer.

Bake for 45 minutes, or until the top is slightly brown. Cool completely before cutting into squares (they will cut even easier if you chill them in the fridge), though cutting just a few crumbly ones still warm from the oven will do no harm to the rest of the pan.

You can find these recipes and more family favourites on our blog, www.dinnerdujour.org.