Menu Planning Monday – Parmesan & Panko encrusted Tilapia and Garlic-Herbed Quinoa
From Wikkipedia: Quinoa ( /ˈkiːnwɑː/ or /kɪˈnoʊ.ə/, Spanish: quinua, from Quechua: kinwa), a species of goosefoot (Chenopodium), is a grain-like crop grown primarily for its edible seeds. It is a pseudocereal rather than a true cereal, or grain, as it is not a member of thegrass family. As a chenopod, quinoa is closely related to species such as beets, spinach, and tumbleweeds. Its leaves are also eaten as a leaf vegetable, much like amaranth, but the commercial availability of quinoa greens is currently limited.
The cool thing about qunioa is, it has the correct number and kinds of amino acids that make it a complete protein – by itself! So unlike other grains where you must have a bean to go with it to make it complete, quinoa provides that source on its own. It’s also a gluten-free product! The grain has a nutty flavor, with more bite and taste than white rice or couscous.
Something you have to remember about making quinoa is that you need to soak it for a while before using. Much like having to soak beans, soaking quinoa helps remove the bitter cover, called saponins of the grain, making it much more palatable. I usually just soak in a bowl for an hour or so before dinner, and then transfer to a fine-mesh strainer to rinse through until no more soapy residue exists in the grains. Boxed quinoa generally has already been treated for you, but I don’t purchase it that way as it’s exceedingly expensive that way. I can get it from the bulk bins of my local Whole Foods for less than the typical boxed price from the supermarket aisles.
To prepare:
After soaking, rinse quinoa thoroughly.
Place a 2:1 ratio of cooking liquid to quinoa in a saucepan, bring to a boil, then return to simmer and allow to cook for 15-20, just like rice. (you’ll see that the quinoa has unfurled in the pan, and you know it’s done)
After the cooking time is up, remove from heat, and fluff with a fork to serve.
Traditionally, I cook quinoa in a broth as opposed to just water.
Things I add:
sautéed or roasted garlic
sautéed onion
dried herbs
chicken or vegetable broth or beef broth, depending on what I’m serving with the quinoa
roasted vegetables
Parmesan Panko-encrusted Tilapia with Roasted Garlic Mayo
1 C mayo
1 head roasted garlic
2 C panko crumbs
1 C grated parmesan
dill
To Prepare:
*squeeze the garlic into the mayo & mix
*mix the parmesan, panko crumbs and dill in a wide bowl or plate.
*Spread a thin layer of roasted garlic mayo onto both sides of the fish fillet, then roll in the panko crumbs
*place on a foil lined baking sheet, sprayed lightly with a cooking spray
*cook at 350 for about 15 min, turning them over halfway
Notes: You can add a little paprika to the panko crumbs for a bit of color.
Here’s the menu for the week:
Sunday: Parmesan & Panko encrusted tilapia & herbed quinoa
Monday: Bourbon chicken, buttered noodles, green beans
Tues: Dinner - BBQ ribs in the slow cooker, Pioneer Woman’s Crash Potatoes (with some added parmesan cheese), roasted garlic green beans
Wednesday: leftovers
Thursday: Panko & friend onion encrusted pork chops (to be posted..Russ saw inspiration from the French’s Onion commercials of late, so we’re going to try a twist on Shake n Bake), sweet potatoes, sauteed mushrooms
Friday: homemade pizza
Saturday: leaving open for suggestions, inspiration or last-minute plans!
And I have to add a little food-geek happiness that I ran across this morning:
Seems I’m the featured blog on WordPress for their Alton Brown tag 
hee hee
you are such a wealth of information Darcy. Adding this to something I wanna experiment with cooking.
I had some quinoa as a dessert this summer. It was in a fruit salad. They rinsed it in water really well, then soaked it in fruit juice and then boiled it in fruit juice (not sure if it was the same juice or replaced). They used pomegranate juice. Then they tossed mangos, peaches & berries with some sugar, let it sit for an hour & then tossed in the quinoa. It was delicious!
Yum! I printed out your recipe for Tilapia. I dont’ fix fish… I don’t eat fish. But I want to eat fish. I’m scared of fish but this sounds really good. I think I might try it.
Great about your blog post!
We had Saltimbocca tonight- have you had it? Yummy. Very thin sliced chicken cutlets (I butterfly the heck out of my SAMS chicken breasts), a slice of perscuitto- is there anything more delicious?!, a sage leaf (I didn’t have this on hand so I added ground sage to the flour in next part). Salt and pepper chicken. You lay the perscuitto on the breast and the sage on top and pin them together with toothpick. Then you dredge in flour and shake off. Cook in about 2 tbsp. veg oil about 4 min. to done. YUMMY AND EASY.
I recently discovered quinoa. I’ve bought it packaged and in bulk at my local grocery store. I assumed it was always pre-rinsed, but sometimes it has had a strong flavor, which I blamed on the sharpness of the onions – but maybe it wasn’t rinsed all the way. Thanks for the tip!
We eat it as a salad – with copped garlic, green and or red onions or shallots, maybe some basil, and a vinagrette – usually red wine, EVOO, and a little dijon mustard. The deli puts kalamata olives in theirs, but I don’t like those – I always pick them out, but it’s ironic because the olives is probably what drives the price up!
The AB thing- lol.
Someone at work recently brought in a giant bag of quinoa. It was a Sam’s thing. I didn’t have a baggie or I would have tried it. She was saying what you said – about being a complete protein. I’m all for that.
I’ll try it sometime.
Thanks for the reminder!