VEGETARIAN SUPPER

I made this simple vegetarian dinner last week for Carol and me. It consisted of English pea pancakes, and a cold quinoa salad. The quinoa salad is surprisingly the same recipe I posted a couple of weeks ago for the filling of my stuffed peppers. When I initially made the stuffed peppers, I had much stuffing left over, so I put it in the refrigerator, and was amazed at how great it tasted cold and on it’s own as a side salad. We keep this salad on hand all the time now. Cold Quinoa Salad for Vegetarian Suppers from Deborah Madison’s Kitchen sea salt and freshly ground pepper 1 cup of quinoa rinsed well several times 3 tablespoons olive oil 1 bunch of scallions including 2 inches of the greens sliced 2 jalapeno chiles, finely diced, seeded if necessary 1 clove garlic finely chopped 1 teaspoon ground cumin 2 cups, more or less of fresh or frozen corn (2 or 3 ears) 1 bunch of spinach, leaves only, or 1/2 pound of spinach leaves 1/2 cup chopped cilantro 1/4 pound feta cheese crumbles 1) Bring 2 cups of water to a boil. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt, then the quinoa. Give it a stir, then cover and simmer over low heat until the grains are tender and reveal their spiraled germs, about 15 minutes. 2) Warm half the oil in a wide skillet. Add the scallions and chiles, cook over medium heat for about 2 minutes, then add the garlic, cumin, corn, and spinach, along with two tablespoons of water. When the spinach is wilted, add the cilantro, cooked quinoa, and feta. Toss everything together, taste for salt, and season with pepper. I found the English pea pancake recipe on Cannelle et Vanille. She topped hers with smoked salmon, which sounds delicious, but not for me. I served mine on a bed of watercress and topped them while still piping hot with a few goat cheese crumbles that melted nicely and a few thinly sliced radishes. This is a wonderful vegetarian supper, and you will never miss the fact that it has no meat! English Pea Pancakes makes 8 pancakes 8 ounces (225 g) shelled English peas 3 tablespoons unsweetened coconut milk 1 egg, lightly beaten 3 tablespoons superfine brown rice flour 1 tablespoon millet flour 1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more for blanching water 1/2 teaspoon sugar 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 2 tablespoons olive oil 4 ounces (110 g) smoked salmon 2 ounces (55 g) goat cheese, crumbled Pea tendrils, optional Bring water to a boil in a medium pot. Season with a generous amount of salt. Add the peas and cook for 3 to 5 minutes until they are tender but not mushy. Drain them and immediately submerge them in ice water to stop the cooking process. Combine half of the peas and the coconut milk in the food processor and puree until smooth. Mash the other half of the peas with a fork. Whisk together the pea puree, egg, superfine brown rice flour, millet flour, salt, sugar, and baking soda. Fold in the mashed peas. Heat a medium skillet over medium high heat. Brush with a bit of olive oil. Drop 1 heaping tablespoon of batter onto the skillet each time. When the sides start to set and small bubbles appear, flip the pancakes carefully and finish cooking for another minute or so. Repeat until all the batter has been used. Top while still hot with whatever sounds good! Enjoy!!