Quinoa and Apples with Curry

Oh my goodness, I totally screwed up last night.

See, I have never made quinoa before. But I've ordered it at restaurants and loved it. So, when I saw a bag of it at Publix a couple of weeks ago, I bought it. But, it's taken me a while to actually try it. It's actually pretty easy to make -- just like rice. You boil 2 cups of water, then add the quinoa and cook for about 15 minutes or until the water is absorbed and the quinoa is fluffy.

I was in the mood for Balthazar's Mustard-encrusted Salmon and thought it would make a great side dish. I looked up a few recipes online and discovered this one from Martha Stewart . But, her recipe looked like it was a cold dish. I wanted it to be hot, so I cooked the apples and shallots in a little bit of butter before I added them to the quinoa.

But, I totally messed up. I don't know what I was thinking -- probably something along the lines of "I hope Baz doesn't choke on his toast while I am turned the other way cooking and man, I should be editing right now" -- but when I went to put my spices back in the cabinet this morning, I discovered what went wrong. I used coriander instead of curry. No wonder my quinoa tasted so different than what I expected. No wonder it sorta sucked.

I figured I'd give you the recipe anyway. Like I said, Martha makes this as a cold salad dish. I think it would be good hot too.

Quinoa and Apples with Curry (adapted from Martha Stewart's recipe)
1/4 cup sliced almonds
1 cup quinoa
1 tablespoon butter
1 small apple, diced
1 small shallot, diced
1 teaspoon honey
1 teaspoon curry powder (not coriander)
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Freshly ground pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons dried currants
a few fresh mint leaves, coursely chopped

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Put the almonds in a single layer on a small cookie sheet and toast in the over for about 8 minutes.

Boil two cups of water. Add the quinoa and return to a boil. Cover, lower the heat to low and cook for 15 minutes.

While the quinoa cooks, melt the butter in a small saute pan. Add the shallots and apples and saute until just soft. Set aside.

Make the dressing by combining the honey, curry powder, salt, pepper, olive oil and lemon juice in a small bowl. Stir until it emulsifies.

When the curry is done, add the apples and shallots and mix well. Drizzle the dressing into the quinoa and mix well. Then add the currants and mint and mix well.

I hope it's good. I wouldn't know.