A quinoa and amaranth salad, with all the flavors of Latin American cuisine inside, to be rolled up and enjoyed in a wheat tortilla
Quinoa salad, white, red or black, is a cold dish that I love to prepare, especially in summer, with lots of fresh or preserved vegetables, so as to transform it into a nutritious and light single dish. Along with quinoa, I also used another super food that comes from this extraordinary continent: amaranth. Like quinoa, amaranth is also a pseudocereal, rich in quality proteins, vitamins and minerals.
I enriched this tortillas with corn cobs, chilli and sweet potatoes, other ingredients originating from these countries and I added a creamy part with a vegetable ricotta, made with Brazil nuts.
This fresh quinoa salad is one of 3 pantry recipes meant for I open the pantry and cook by chef Andrea Samà, chef instructor of Glion Institute of Higher Education, an international Swiss school offering bachelor's and master's degrees in hospitality management.
If you are curious to discover all the recipes we have learned from Glion's chef instructor, download the FREE EBOOK, full of tips, practical tips and delicious recipes. CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE DOWNLOAD.
post made in collaboration with Glion – Sommet
ingredients for two tortillas
WHAT
for the quinoa salad
- 100 g of red quinoa
- 50 g of amaranth
- 1 sweet potato
- 10 mini corn (or 50 g of natural corn)
- 100 g of tuna fillets (preferably natural)
- 2 wheat tortillas
- 2 tablespoons of pumpkin seeds
- 1 chili pepper (spiciness to taste)
- apple cider vinegar to taste
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil
- Salt to taste
- cayenne pepper to taste
- some Brazil nuts to decorate
for the vegetable ricotta
- 100 g of Brazil nuts
- 200 ml of water
- 5 g of nigari
HOW TO PREPARE THE QUINOA SALAD
I prepared the quinoa following the instructions on the package, then I boiled it in boiling, lightly salted water for about 15 minutes, then drained and cooled. The ratio of water to quinoa must be 3: 1. I repeated the same operation for the amaranth (the ratio in this case will be 2: 1), for a cooking of about 30 minutes. I drained it carefully with a fine mesh strainer (alternatively you can use a tea towel and then squeeze it carefully.
In the meantime, I boiled the sweet potato al dente and cut it into brunoise, I sliced the mini corn and seasoned everything with oil, salt, pepper and apple cider vinegar.
I combined the red quinoa and amaranth, perfectly drained and cooled, and the tuna fillets, coarsely chopped, mixing carefully to blend all the flavors. Finally I decorated with fresh aromas.
HOW TO PREPARE VEGETABLE RICOTTA
First I dissolved 5g of nigari in 25ml of warm water. In a powerful robot I blended the Brazil nuts, combining the hot water a little at a time. I blended several times to obtain a fluid mixture. I transferred the walnut milk to the fire and brought it to a boil (the perfect temperature is 80 °). Then I took it off the heat, combined the Nigari solution and blended again.
I transferred the mixture into a cloth inside a perforated container and let it drain overnight, helping myself with a weight to let the excess liquid flow.
Here is the result of my vegetable ricotta
HOW TO SERVE THE COLD QUINOA SALAD
I plated the tortillas and placed them on serving plates. I poured half of the walnut ricotta for each one into the center, spreading it with the back of the spoon, and seasoned with cayenne pepper and a tablespoon of oil.
Then I also poured the quinoa and amaranth salad, with tuna and corn and decorated with fresh herbs, red pepper rings and chopped leftover Brazil nuts.
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AT SCHOOL WITH I OPEN THE PANTRY AND COOKING AND GLION INSTITUTE
As I mentioned, this recipe is part of a small training course in which I was able to take part with colleagues and friends of the project I open the pantry and cook, to share the reality of Glion and its high-level educational offer in the panorama ofhospitality management.
Part of the group Sommet Education, together with Les Roches, Invictus Group and the École Ducasse school of culinary and pastry art, Glion is a university-accredited institution and ranked third among the best universities in the world in this segment.
Glion's training follows the Swiss model of hospitality management education, which combines academic rigor, practical cooking and hotel service activities, with theoretical, management courses and professional internships.
One of the added values of this structure, founded in 1962, is certainly the multicultural environment built on all three campuses, in which students can grow together with classmates of over 90 different nationalities and a high-level faculty and maximum professional experience. .
The school's pluses are also completed by direct contact with teachers, 1 for every 5 students, and the training internship program in the field of luxury accommodation facilities, more than 4 thousand partners, such as Marriot, Mandarin Oriental, Accor or Four Seasons.