This recipe not only has a great name. It also is an adaptation of a classic English recipe – Shepherds Pie. The aduki beans make up the Red Dragon Element. You can substitute other types of beans you have to hand if you prefer.
Red Dragon Quinoa Pie – Ingredients
To many people, Quinoa is a new food. However it is actually an old food in that it has been eaten for many, many years but not necessarily in Britain. As soon as more people appreciate its versatility and health benefits, it is bound to be used as regularly as rice and even the humble potato.
It is really easy to use and can be added to both hot and cold meals. It can even be used in baking. Many may ask what is quinoa? It is a type of seed or grain from the Quinoa plant that was originally grown in the Andes but can be grown in our climate. The leaves can be used in salads but the most used part of the plant is its seed. They are dried and stored as grain. They can also be pressed to produce their own oil which also has health benefits.
When I first started cooking quinoa there were very few easy quinoa recipes. There were absolutely no books in print on how to cook quinoa. The internet had a few websites here and there but most of them were not very helpful. I started by cooking the recipes that were printed on the sides of the packets. Being an experienced amateur cook did help me to gain a good understanding of how I should cook quinoa and develop recipes for it. Very quickly I could see the benefits of this super food.
Do Not Be Afraid Of New Ingredients
Even the great Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall has discovered the benefits of cooking seeds and grains. There are a number of recipes at the guardian website here
. I have reproduced the quinoa one here. There are 2 other excellent recipes using bulgar and cous cous.
Robin Benzle has a weekly recipe channel on youtube. She sent me this great quinoa recipe. It is so simple and easy to make.
I went to my supermarket here in Bracknell and all the ingredients were there sitting on the shelf. OK – I couldn’t find the Parmesan Cheese without asking – but it was there. Just very well hidden.
The ingredients are Quinoa, Spinach, Olive Oil, Parmesan Cheese and tomatoes. I would not have made as much as this as I only usually cook for 2. I often think that American portion sizes are much bigger than English portion sizes.
The other important thing to notice is how easy the recipe is to adapt. Quinoa recipes are very easy to alter and change to suit the ingredients you have to hand. I like to use fresh vegetables with my recipes. So I would include whatever I had ready to pick from my vegetable plot at the time.
