Zest makes everything better

Although taste is the driving factor, zest will supply you with some serious health benefits too. Lemon peel has many healing properties, including a natural metabolism boosting effect. It contains pectin which prevents your body from absorbing sugar, thereby reducing your chances of weight gain. Other active nutrients in lemon peel include vitamin C, limonene and salvestrol Q40. These nutrients will help improve your digestion, cholesterol, bone health and amp up your cancer prevention, specifically reducing your chances of breast and colon cancer.

As for flavor

The fusion of lemon zest and sundried tomato, balanced with the bitter bite of spinach and creamy Emmi Emmentaler cheese makes for an utterly delectable combination! Make a big bowl of this delicious grain to eat throughout the week, or pack it into little patties and fry them up for a more indulgent treat.

Pair with my 10 Minute Leg of Lamb for a Mediterranean inspired dish that is sure leave you licking your lips. Tired of quinoa? Switch it up and try this recipe with risotto or millet!

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Here are my attempted patties with Zesty Lamb Steaks – a Zest Fest! Such a great combo. The patties didn’t hold together very well, but I really enjoyed the crispy quinoa on the outside. What a yummy treat!

Before you get cooking

To reconstitute the sundried tomatoes, place in a jar and cover with olive oil. Tighten the lid and place in a dark cupboard–to prevent the oil from going rancid. Soak roughly 1-2 days before use.

Fermented quinoa ready to be rinsed and used.

At the same time ferment your quinoa. Place dry quinoa in a large bowl and cover with water, about 1 inch above grains. Add a tablespoon of vinegar. Stir. Cover. Soak overnight, or at least 6 hours at room temperature, around 70 F or warmer. The next day you’ll find foam floating on top. Pour these impurities off. Rinse the quinoa in a mesh strainer. If you’re not ready to cook, soak the quinoa for a second day with fresh water and vinegar, or just drain and store in the fridge.

If you’re new to cooking with zest check to see if you have a fine grating option on your existing hand held grater. If not, and you choose to invest in a microplane, try this ProChef wide grater. I prefer this to the more common long, skinny design.

I held out a long time before investing in one of these

If you haven’t already, I also recommend you invest in a food processor. The Cuisineart standard blade is perfect for 1/4 inch leeks. I even used it to quickly get through chopping the sundried tomatoes and grating the cheese. I cannot recommend it enough! If you’re considering it go for the 11 cup. It sounds like a lot, but I’ve found that for most of my recipes the 7 cup has not been large enough to work with ease.

If you’re feeling adventurous

Try making small patties out of the mixture. I did not have great success with this aspect of the original recipe, but it’s a fun experiment and there’s not much risk involved with making a couple patties and giving it a go. Although my patties didn’t stick together very well, the crispy outside layers were pretty convincing. If you like a crispy outside as much as I do, consider making them as you go through the course of the week.

Or just eat this delicious quinoa as is!

Prepped cheese, spinach and sundried tomato, ready to combine with quinoa.

Prepped cheese, spinach and sundried tomato. Chopped and grated in a jiffy with my Cuisinart food processor! Light fluffy textured quinoa ready to combine.

Zesty Sundried Tomato & Spinach Quinoa

Created by Patryce Kinga Bak on May 3, 2016

This recipe requires a little elbow grease, but it’s well worth it. It’s one of my favorite quinoa recipes. Hearty, zesty and creamy. Makes my taste buds light up just thinking about it!

Prep Time: 30m
Cook Time: 40m
Total Time: 1h 10m

Serves: 4

Ingredients

4 Stalks Green Onions, chopped
1 Leek, sliced 1/4" thick slices
1 teaspoon Himalayan Sea Salt
2 cups Quinoa, dry
1 cup Water
1 tablespoon Ghee, Butter or EV Olive Oil
1 Whole Egg
1 Egg Yolk
1/2 cup Sundried Tomatoes, dry (soaked overnight in EV olive oil, chopped)
2 tablespoons Oil From Sundried Tomatoes (for quinoa sauté)
2 cups Spinach, finely chopped
3 ounces Emmi Emmentaler cheese, grated (or another mild cheese that melts well)
zest of 1 lemon
zest of 1 lime

Instructions

To reconstitute the sundried tomatoes, place in a jar and cover with olive oil. Tighten the lid and place in a dark cupboard. Soak roughly 1-2 days before use.
Slice leeks and place in a bowl of cold water. Mix with your hands to remove the dirt from the leeks. Let it settle for a few minutes. The dirt should sink. Scoop up the floating leeks and dry in a strainer.
Heat the ghee in a large sauté pan. Add leeks, green onions and salt. Sauté covered, stirring occasionally to prevent burning, on medium-low heat, about 10 minutes until completely soft.
In the meantime, place eggs in a bowl and beat until thoroughly blended.
Chop sundried tomatoes and spinach into small pieces. Set aside in a large mixing bowl with enough room to combine all the ingredients.
Add the quinoa to the pan. Sauté for a minute or two. Add the water and stir well. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium. Simmer covered for 15 min.
Turn off the heat. Add the eggs and stir well. Let the rest of the water evaporate and cool for 15 min.
Finish grating the cheese, microplane the zest and any remaining chopping.
Once the quinoa has cooled, combine remaining ingredients together in the bowl and mix well.

Patties

Place about 2 tablespoons full in your palm and pack as firmly as possible.
Place on a baking sheet or plate and set in the fridge for at least 20 minutes.
Heat 2 tbsp of avocado oil (or other high-heat tolerant oil or fat) and place a few patties, with room in between each, in the pan. Fry about 10 minutes on each side, on medium low heat until golden brown.