Salmon and Quinoa Pasta / Pie (Gluten free)

Salmon & Quinoa Pasta

It's been some time since I've last blogged about recipes for my toddler son. I think I have been less adventurous with recipes now and more occupied with his daily activities. Happikiddo had recently launched a contest searching for an all-time thumb-up recipe for our little cutie pies. I have decided to enter my son's favorite fish pie recipe into the contest. It's a very healthy and balanced meal as each serving alone meets the recommended vegetable intake for a child aged 1 to 4 years. In addition, I incorporate 'quinoa' the illustriously known supergrain in making the creamy pumpkin sauce for the fish pie. It is so creamily delicious no one would suspect it is actually this 'healthy'! At least my husband never suspected it. 

I am sure I have written or blogged about quinoa some time back, but there's no harm talking about this good stuff, as good stuff like this always need a gentle nudge. Quinoa (pronounced as 'keen-wah', is in fact not a grain, but a complete protein in the form of amino acids, in other words, they are very easy to digest and are essential for development and growth. If your diet lacks of protein eg fish, tofu or meat, then consider adding quinoa into your diet.

Quinoa for babies and kids 

Quinoa is hypoallergenic (less likely to cause an allergy), thus making it suitable for young infants. Quinoa may be introduced to baby from 8 months onwards although many babies do tolerate it prior to 8 months. This nutritious-dense ingredient makes a great addition to your little one's diet and it is very versatile. You can cook and serve it as puree, or congee (porridge) or in this case, a creamy sauce. It is packed with fiber, calcium, iron and folate, making it a great option for parents who find it tough to get their kids to eat vegetables.

I have made this creamy quinoa and pumpkin sauce many times and have served it with mashed potato topping (as salmon & quinoa pie - somehow the presentation makes the entire dish very attractive to a little kid), or pasta or even rice.

There is no need to add thickener like cornflour to thicken it up as the addition of quinoa turns it into a perfect consistency, somewhere between a creamy soup and a sauce.

If you like this healthy and delicious recipe, kindly give me a LIKE on the following facebook photo link. Huge thank you in advanced.

https://www.facebook.com/Happikiddo/photos/a.821843814580232.1073741866.330671603697458/837824239648856/?type=3&theater

Here's my recipe for my salmon, quinoa and pumpkin sauce
(By all means, replace salmon with other fish or meat)

• 150g salmon, cubed 
• 1/2 small onion, cubed
• 100g pumpkin or butternut squash, cubed 
• 1/4 cup quinoa, rinsed 
• 1 1/4 cup vegetable stock, homemade 
• 2 cloves garlic, finely minced 
• 1 knob of butter / grapeseed oil to pan fry the garlic and fish 

Instructions: 

1. Steam-cook cubed onion, pumpkin, and quinoa in a pot / rice cooker with the vegetable cook (about 20 minutes). Once cooked, transfer all to a blender, pulse for 2-3 minutes or until the sauce turns creamy. Set aside. 
2. In a frying pan, heat up butter or oil. Stir in finely minced garlic and sautee till fragrant. Stir in cubed salmon. Cook for about 2 min. 
3. Pour in creamy pumpkin and quinoa sauce. Simmer for another 2-5 min. 
4. Serve with mashed potato, pasta or rice. 

To make the salmon and quinoa pie: 

Boil potato till tender. Mash with salt or pepper (optional) and butter, milk and cheese. 

To assemble the pie, divide the salmon and quinoa pumpkin sauce between 3 ramekin dishes. Top with mashed potato. To achieve a nice golden color, brush top of pie with beaten egg mixture and bake in a preheated oven at 180deg C for 10 to 20 min. 

Zucchini quiche for baby (gluten free)*

I made these beautiful morsels for the little fella for dinner. I halved the original recipe yielding only 5 baby quiches. Guess what? The little fella finished 4 of them. Must be yum ya? I paired them up with potato and zucchini soup, topped with chopped avocado.

If you have a baby on gluten free diet, replace the baby corrallini pasta with cooked brown rice or cooked quinoa.

For the recipe of baby quiche, you'll need:
(This recipe makes 5-6 baby quiche)

• 1cup grated zucchini
• 1egg
• 1/2 small onion, finely diced
• 1clove garlic, finely minced
• 1/4 cup Cheddar cheese, grated
• 1/4 cup baby corallini pasta or gluten free option: cooked rice or cooked quinoa
• pinch of salt and black pepper (optional)

Instructions:
1. Sprinkle the shredded zucchini with a pinch of salt, allow to sit for about 5 minutes before squeezing out the excess liquid. After wringing out, place in a large bowl.
2. Add the eggs, onion, garlic, cheese, cooked pasta, salt, and pepper to the shredded zucchini. Stir until evenly combined.

 

3. Scoop the mixture into the prepared mini muffin tin, filling each well to the top.

 

 

4. Bake at 180degC for 18-20 minutes, until golden. Allow to cool slightly before removing to a wire rack to cool. Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Reheat at 350ºF for about 8-10 minutes, until heated through.

 

 

 

Oat and quinoa pumpkin porridge with fish

The name of this dish.. quite a mouthful.. Hahaa.. but it is just like its name, packed with lots of good nutrients, such a nutritious meal for a little tummy. I am always very glad that my little fella (just turned one 2 weeks ago) is a food 'connoisseur' at his age. He takes pleasure in finishing all his meal. Let's keep his fingers crossed he will continue to love his mom's home-cooked food.

 

Packed and go. The lil' fella's lunch.

 

 

I'm organizing a cooking class for mommies with babies/kids this coming Saturday at Just Health, one of the dish that I'm gonna demo on is this quinoa porridge with fish. I tried the first one in a 'risotto' style, it was a lot drier. The people here may not be familiar with risotto, so I may not want to introduce too many new things at one time, quinoa .. nutritional yeast .. are already something unheard, doubt many will know of risotto. So I'll just stick with porridge this time. I'm sure everyone knows porridge or congee.

 

I have always been a huge advocate of quinoa. It's just a small tiny seeds / grains (it's actually a seed) but it is soooo nutritious! It's gluten free and is a source of complete protein. Most importantly, it's easily digestible making it a SUPERFOOD for the little tummy. I love quinoa, because of its protein rich property, but unlike meat, it is free from cholesterol, so we can eat lots of it and not need to worry about its cholesterol or getting gout. I am also in love with it for its high calcium content. I suffer from lactose intolerance. I take no milk. None at all throughout my pregnancy. I just relied on these wholegrains, eg brown rice, quinoa, millet, amaranth (another calcium-packed grain) for their calcium and iron source.

 

The lil' fella has been eating lots of these wholegrain since young. His taste bud has kinda adapted to a wide variety of texture and flavor which I realized would make things easy. I can explore with a lot of ingredients, and he can be my lab rat!

 

So here's my humble recipe:

• 3tbsp of quinoa (soaked for abt 2-4hours prior to cooking)
• 3tbsp of oat
• about 200g pumpkin, cut into cubes
• about 1-2 cups of water
• 1 white fish fillet (I used threadfin)  
• served with organic toasted sesame oil and nutritional yeast flakes (no salt added to his food yet) 

Instructions:

Put everything into a slow cooker and cook for about 3-5hours. When everything is soft and creamy, add in fish fillet and let cook for another 15min. Serve with organic toasted sesame oil and nutritional yeast flakes.

 

This post is linked to the event, Little Thumbs Up organised by Zoe of Bake for Happy Kids and Doreen of My Little Favourite DIY and hosted by Vivian of Vivian Pang's Kitchen.

 

 

 

Quinoa risotto with purple carrot and fish

I was blog-hopping and I came across this very interesting blog by the name of Queen of Quinoa. I was already attracted to it seeing the name. Being a big advocate of quinoa, I subscribed to it, I can do with learning more diverse ways cooking and baking with quinoa. Quinoa risotto, quinoa Buddha bowl, quinoa greek salad with chickpeas, quinoa burger!! Whoa!? I didn't know which one I wanted to start with.

I decided to start with a quinoa risotto for the lil' fella. In fact, I never knew quinoa can make risotto. I wasn't sure it would give the same creaminess that is usually yielded from Arborio rice. Never know until I try it, right?

 

 

Verdict? Yummmm!! It was full of texture and tasted sweet. Quinoa risotto is definitely unlike the usual Italian risotto made from Arborio rice, quinoa gave it more texture, more bite. I cooked it for extra longer time so that it was easy for the lil' fella to take. The risotto was made with a stock I previously made from purple carrots, red onions and lean pork meat, thus giving it the sweetness I wasn't expecting. As usual, I had leftover for my salad the next day.



My next morning brekkie: Greek salad with quinoa and roasted purple carrot

Ingredients:
This recipe makes 3 portion for the lil' fella (he has just turned one)

• 1/2 cup of tricolor quinoa or white quinoa (your choice)
• 2 cloves garlic, finely minced
• half onion, finely minced
• few Thai basil leaves, chopped
• half a purple carrot, cubed
• about 2-3 cups of stocks
• 1 white fish fillet (I used threadfin)
• 1tsp of Italian herbs
• cracked black pepper
• 2tbsp cream cheese

Instructions:

1. Soak the quinoa for about 1hr before use. I realized quinoa has a tint of bitterness to it if I don't soak it.
2. Meanwhile, heat a little grapeseed oil in a pan over medium heat and add the garlic, onions and herbs. Saute until fragrant, 2 - 3 minutes. Add the carrot and saute until it begins to soften, another 5 minutes or so. Season with pepper (you may add salt).
3. Add in the quinoa, sauté for another 2minutes, pour in stocks. Simmer for about 20-30minutes. Add in fish fillet. Continue to add vegetable broth, if it seems dry and simmer until you get the consistency you're looking for. I added 2tbsp cream cheese into to give it an extra creaminess.
4. Remove from the heat, transfer to a serving dish and enjoy immediately. This is also delicious topped with a little freshly grated cheese.
5. Enjoy!

 

This is the photo of a purple color stock I previously made and kept frozen. It's cooked with lean pork meat, purple carrots, tomato and onion. I usually use it when preparing porridge for the lil' fella. I also use it to make up my cous cous for my breakfast.