A few weeks ago we wrote about Chef Matt Rosen’s recipe for Quinoa Tabbouleh and Grilled Salmon. Here’s a clip from YouCook’s visit with Chef Matt Rosen where he explains the dish:

I LOVE how simple and delicious this recipe is and have made it twice this month! Here are my observations:

Boiling Quinoa
The recipe just calls for cooked quinoa so I wanted to elaborate on how to cook quinoa for those of you who have never used this in your life. Cooking quinoa is a lot like cooking couscous or rice. Quinoa will expand to triple its uncooked size so use a pot that accounts for that. The Quinoa 365 book mentions a few methods of cooking quinoa but I’ll just explain the one I used called Simmer and Set. It is also the preferred method of the authors of the book since it’s quick and no draining is required. Quinoa cooks in half the time it takes to cook rice – one cup takes roughly 10-15 minutes.

1. Combine the quinoa and water (1:3 ratio) in a pot and bring to a boil.
2. Cover, reduce to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes.
3. Turn off heat, keep pot covered for another 5 minutes or until it’s soft depending on what you’re going to use the quinoa for.

In case you have excess water, you can just drain it out. That’s about it!

Quinoa really varies in price and availability!
In Vancouver, I’ve found it for 89 cents per 100g in the bulk section and I’ve also found a box at Safeway for $8.99 for 2 cups! I’ve tried No Frills (in the West End) and Canadian Superstore (at Metrotown) and they don’t carry it. I’m tempted to write in to them to request it. As more and more people learn how to cook with quinoa I hope it becomes part of every grocery store (and at a reasonable price!)

I never have a BBQ or grill readily available for the salmon.
I follow the recipe for the Quinoa Tabbouleh but end up baking the salmon instead of grilling it. Vancouver is known for its delicious wild sockeye salmon and I *think* I’ve mastered how to make it turn out delicious.
1. Buy a fillet of salmon enough for 4 people.
2. Squeeze half a lemon on to the salmon.
3. Cut the other half lemon into round slices.
4. Rub in salt, pepper, fresh parsley (and any other spices you want).
5. Put lemon slices on top of salmon.
6. Wrap it with parchment paper (preferable) or aluminum foil and bake in the oven at 400 degrees for 12-15 min.
7. Take it out right away so that it doesn’t get overcooked in the oven.

Substitute vegetables
The recipe calls for tomatoes and green beans but other greens always catch my eye while I’m grocery shopping! I think that I have a new theory about how to tell what’s in season – its the most abundant and cheaper than usual vegetables in the store. This past weekend I picked up asparagus and a few weeks ago I had it with mushrooms, red pepper and onions.

Left over quinoa
Every time I make this dish, I always find myself with more quinoa than salmon so it forces me to do something creative the next day. I made a tuna salad wrap for lunch and added quinoa – it worked quite well. I added it into a spinach salad – that tasted really good too. I’m starting to see how versatile quinoa really is!

Thanks again Chef Matt Rosen and Four.