Yesterday I made a Quinoa Salad w/ Mini Potatoes, & Avocado. As well as quinoa keeps and is good chilled. I'm kind of partial to room temperature quinoa. I don't always have the patience to let the quinoa warm up on its own and I don't have a microwave. I like to come up with fun ways to reheat quinoa. You can heat it on the stove. This will lightly toast the quinoa and gives a fun crunchy texture.
Although you can also bake quinoa with a crust of cheese on top. I would ordinarily recommend a grated cheese, like a low-moisture mozzarella. I'm about to go out of town, so it's time to use up the cheese that I have before I go! Fresh mozzarella is a good substitute. I would recommend crumbling it, rather than just plopping it on top. Although this is a lazy day reheated salad that I've turned into a cheese dip. It would be great with tortilla chips or bread. It can also be eaten as is, like a little quinoa salad casserole. I used tofu, potatoes, shredded carrots, avocado, green onions, shallots, garlic, olive oil, tamari, & fresh mozzarella in this quinoa dip. You can also mix and match any of your favorite fruits and vegetables or produce that you have on hand.
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Variations of Quinoa Dip
I'm a big fan of dips. Today used it as a way to utilize leftovers. Although dips are also fun thing to make on their own. I like to mix together beans and cheese or even make a spinach dip with Greek yogurt. White wine. And gruyère, which tastes remarkably like a spinach pesto with cheese.
Add all of the ingredients into a rice cooker and press the cook button on the rice cooker. It should take about 45 minutes to cook.
When the quinoa is fully cooked, let sit for 10 minutes. Then, fluff with a wooden spoon.Do not use a fork or other metal utensil. It will scratch off the nonstick surface on the rice cooker. This will leach Teflon into your food and cause future dishes to stick to the bottom.
Fry Tofu
While the quinoa is cooking, drain the water out of the tofu and cut into cubes.
Wrap in paper towels to absorb the moisture.It's important to absorb as much water out of the tofu as you can. Oil is less dense than water, so the molecules repel one another. With cold ingredients, this causes separation. When you're frying at high temperatures, though, this can cause boiling hot oil to spray back at you.
Meanwhile, preheat oil in a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat.
When the skillet has preheated and the majority of the water has absorbed into the paper towels, carefully add the tofu to the skillet. Fry until golden brown. This should take about 2-4 minutes. Rotate until all sides are evenly fried.
Remove from heat and wrap again in paper towels to absorb the excess oil.
Cook Potatoes
Add potatoes to the same heated skillet.
Cook for 15-20 minutes, or until tender and lightly browned.Make sure to stir rather frequently. If it browns too quickly, add more oil and lower the temperature. If it doesn't brown quickly enough, increase the heat.
Bake
When the quinoa is fully cooked, add tofu, potatoes, rice vinegar, and tamari.Different brand of vinegar and tamari will have vastly different tastes. I recommend starting with a couple of tablespoons and then building up. These flavors will also seep in over time and become stronger the longer that it sits. So make sure not to add too much! Particularly if you aren't serving right away.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Lightly grease a medium-sized baking dish and pour in quinoa.
Add slices or crumble fresh mozzarella on top.
Bake for 20-30 minutes, or until the mozzarella is melted and begins to brown.
Either eat as is or stir in the cheese. Serve immediately with chips, bread, apples, and/or other dips of choice.
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