Ensalada de Quinoa con Vegetales

Warm Vegetable Quinoa Salad with Miso-Lime Dressing

Main-course salads aren’t on menus all over the place in Peru like they are here. I guess we like more substantial bites with our vegetables. This quinoa “salad” is really a vegetable saltado, stir-fry, with quinoa as the base instead of rice. Like any stir-fry, you don’t want to overcrowd the wok or pan with too many ingredients, so stick to no more than two servings at a time. Quinoa is more fragile than rice, so you need to add it toward the end of the cooking time. If you have red or brown quinoa, this is a good dish to use it in. The darker colored seedlike grains tend to be firmer than white quinoa and hold up well when fried. I also love the chewier texture, but white quinoa is still also very good.

I tend to use crispy quinoa (see sidebar, page 201) to contrast the chewy texture of quinoa in the stir-fry with some crunchiness (to go restaurant-style, substitute about ½ cup of the fried quinoa for steamed and fold the two together). Nuts provide a similar crunchiness and great flavor. Use whatever mix of vegetables you have around, and chop them all about the same size so they cook evenly. Keep the tomatoes a little larger so they hold their shape.

• 1 jalapeño, seeded and deveined
• ½ large red or other bell pepper, seeded and deveined
• 1 medium Japanese or Chinese eggplant, or ½ small globe eggplant
• Small handful of mushrooms, any type
• 1 ripe medium heirloom, beefsteak, or other juicy tomato, or 2 plum tomatoes
• Miso-Lime Dressing (recipe)
• ⅓ cup plain Greek-style yogurt
• Canola or other vegetable oil
• 2 generous cups cooked quinoa (see page 201), drained on paper towels if moist
• 8 cloves confit garlic (see sidebar, page 199) or roasted garlic cloves (optional)
• Kosher salt
• Handful of crushed walnuts, lightly toasted

1 Roughly chop the jalapeño, bell pepper, eggplant, and mushrooms into bite-size chunks, about 1 inch or so, or smaller, if you like. Halve the tomatoes lengthwise and cut each half into several large, chunky wedges. Keep the tomatoes in a separate pile or bowl. In a separate small bowl, stir together the miso-lime dressing and yogurt.

2 Heat a wok or large sauté pan over high heat until hot, a good 2 minutes. Pour in a nice drizzle of oil, enough to coat the bottom of the pan (2 to 3 tablespoons), and heat the oil for 2 to 3 minutes more, until very hot. The oil shouldn’t be smoking, but close. Swirl the oil around the pan, toss in the jalapeño, bell pepper, eggplant, and mushrooms, and shake the pan or use tongs to flip the vegetables a few times. Toss the vegetables regularly until the eggplant begins to soften, about 5 minutes. Add another tablespoon or two of oil to the pan if the vegetables ever look dry.

3 Add the tomatoes, toss well, and continue to fry until the tomatoes barely begin to soften, about 30 seconds. Toss in the quinoa and confit garlic (if using) and cook for a few seconds more. Transfer the stir-fry to a medium bowl and fold in all but a tablespoon or two of the yogurt dressing. Taste, and add a little more of the dressing and salt, if you’d like. The salad should be very tangy. Transfer the warm salad to a large bowl or individual plates, sprinkle with the walnuts, and serve inmediatamente.

Miso-Lime Dressing

Makes about ⅓ cup

My grilled Paiche Lettuce Wraps (page 120) and kabocha squash (page 189) are brushed with a honey-saikyo miso sauce (a specialty miso from Kyoto with a sweeter and more subtle, balanced flavor than some misos; see Resources for sources) infused with sliced limes.

Here, this miso-lime dressing also uses the saikyo miso and honey, but the rice vinegar and ají amarillo peppers brighten and spice up the flavors. This is a dressing that works hot or cold. Add a little more oil or equal parts plain Greek-style yogurt, and you’ve got the kind of tangy-sweet green salad dressing that even my kids love. Or use it on a cold quinoa salad with sweet, crunchy vegetables like red bell peppers. Saikyo miso (see page 265) is worth seeking out, but more widely available shiromiso is a good substitute.

• 2½ tablespoons saikyo or shiro (white) miso
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
• 1 tablespoon canola or olive oil
• 1 tablespoon unseasoned rice vinegar
• 1 teaspoon ají amarillo paste, store-bought or homemade (see page 34), or to taste
• Pinch of kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Whisk together all of the ingredients in a small bowl until the miso is well incorporated. Taste and add a little more ají amarillo paste, if you’d like. Use right away, or cover and refrigerate the dressing for up to 5 days. Stir again before using.

Confit Garlic

I love watching the faces on first-timers when they see the giant cloves of confit garlic (garlic poached in oil) that I use in the stir-fried quinoa salad. People usually taste the chunky garlic con cuidado (with caution), thinking the cloves will be way too intense. Before they know it, they’ve eaten half a head of garlic.

Slowly poaching the whole cloves in oil over very low heat really mellows their flavor. It also helps soften them but retain their shape without getting that super-soft texture that you get with overly roasted garlic cloves. Other than the quinoa salad, you can nestle a few confit garlic cloves alongside roasted vegetables, sprinkle them on top of pasta with tomato sauce, or use them as part of a crudité platter.

Try to keep the cloves whole as you peel them, so they look their best, but don’t throw away any that get smashed. You can still use them for cooking. Save the garlic-infused cooking oil for salad dressings or for sautéing or roasting vegetables, fish, and meats.

To Confit Garlic: Place the peeled cloves from 1 to 2 heads of garlic (no more than will fit in a single layer) in a small or medium saucepan. Cover the cloves completely with olive oil (you will need at least 1 cup, probably more, depending on the size of the pan), bring the oil to a simmer over medium-high heat, and immediately reduce the heat to low. Gently simmer (do not boil) the oil until the garlic is very tender when pierced with a knife, about 15 minutes. If the garlic begins to turn brown in spots, turn off the heat completely for a minute or two. Let the garlic cool completely in the oil. Transfer the cloves to a jar and cover completely with the poaching oil. The garlic will keep in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 weeks. Makes 1 to 2 heads of garlic cloves and a nice jar of garlic-infused cooking oil.