Quinoa and Grilled Sourdough Salad

It has been a very difficult past couple of days around here.  Emilia seems to have discovered the fine art of throwing fits and testing her limits, and it has been making me absolutely crazy.  I admit that I am not the most patient person in the world, though, and I really ought to work on that.  But, really, I'm at my wits end over here!  And to top it off, my sister has been on a road-trip for the past while, so I've not been able to call her and give her an earful about it.  I already know what she'd say though: 'They all go through it.  It's only a phase, so stop bothering me.  Don't you know I'm busy -- and try dealing with seven of them!  Call me when you've got a real problem, lightweight!' Or something like that anyway.  Besides, I am well aware of the fact that having seven kids will hardly conjure any sympathy for one with a (usually) very easy two year old.** 

So, last night we sat down to a lovely dinner: salmon on the grill and this marvelous quinoa and grilled sourdough salad.  It was divine.  And we ended up eating so much of the salad that we were fit to burst.  That is, Michael and I ate it.  Emilia spent the whole of dinner declaring that she was finished and needed to get down.  It is the oddest thing, the girl loves vegetables, I swear.  But she has drawn the line with a few things: potatoes (even mashed potatoes), cucumbers, anything with parsley on it, lettuce, and anything resembling a salad, particularly if it has dressing on it.  But she will eat broccoli, asparagus, zucchini, green beans, tomatoes, and on and on, until the cows come home. 

Anyway, as I've mentioned before, I happen to take vegetables very seriously around here.  So I didn't take it too kindly when Emilia put one bite of this delicious salad into her mouth, and then started gagging like she was being tortured by some mean and nasty person.  I mean, really.  And I particularly didn't appreciate when she decided that the bread chunks were tofu and, therefore, not to be touched.  I suppose, in the poor girl's defense, this salad was loaded to the gills with items on her Do Not Eat list.  But even so, hmpf!

Michael and I fully enjoyed the salad.  Actually, that is an understatement.  We loved it.  It was so good, so fresh tasting, and so very good for us.  It was also a breeze to make -- which, I think, is uncharacteristic of Ottolenghi recipes.  As a general rule, they are rather fiddly.  However, I've never been even a little disappointed in anything I've done from either of the books.  And the book Plenty is perhaps the best cookbook I've gotten in awhile.

And so, as we were in the throws of yet another fit last night, this one because she wanted to go outside and play while we were supposed to be getting ready for bed, I nearly had a nervous breakdown.  I'm serious, it was such a long day that I all I wanted to do was cry.  And that is when Michael swooped in and saved the day.  Right after we got her down to bed, he hopped into the kitchen and made the most glorious cocktail I've had to date.  And because it was so divine, I'll post it next, I promise.

A few quick notes about the salad.  I used one usual size organic American cucumber, as opposed to three small ones, because that is what I could find.  Also, instead of red onion, I used a shallot, and only about half the amount called for.  Red onion is always way too overpowering for me in these sorts of recipes.  And I was more than happy with the result.  Particularly since you are meant to put raw garlic into the lot, as well.  But, hey, that's just me.

**Actually, Kari is always marvelous with these subjects and random meltdowns from me.  In fact, I think she has only laughed outright at me once.  And she promises that she does not hang up the phone immediately just to call all of her friends and say, 'Just get a load of what she is complaining about now!  hahaheeheehaha!'

Quinoa and Grilled Sourdough Salad
serves 4

40g quinoa
4 slices sourdough bread (300g in total)
70 ml olive oil, plus more for brushing the bread
4 ripe medium tomatoes (400g in total)
3 small cucumbers (250g in total) unpeeled
½ small red onion, very thinly sliced
4 tablespoons chopped coriander (cilantro for those of you at home)
1 ½ tablespoons chopped mint
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
1 tablespoon lemon juice
¾ tablespoon red wine vinegar
2 small garlic cloves, crushed
salt and black pepper

Preheat your oven to 350°F/180°C/Gas Mark 4.  In a small saucepan of boiling water, pour in the quinoa, and let it cook for 9 minutes.  Drain in a fine mesh sieve and then run it under cold water.  Set it aside to dry out a bit.

Brush the bread with a bit of olive oil, and then sprinkle with salt.  Put on your baking sheet and then pop it in the oven for 10 minutes, turning it over half way in between.  (I let ours go about 15 minutes to dry it out nicely.)  The bread should be completely dry and quite crisp, sort of in the manner of large croutons.  Take it out of the oven and let it cool a bit.  Once cooled, break it into small and randomly sized pieces.

Cut the tomatoes into 2cm dice and put into a mixing bowl.  Follow with the cucumbers, in a similar manner.  Put the rest of the ingredients, including the bread and quinoa, into the bowl and give it a good stir.  Taste and adjust for seasoning. 

Let the salad sit for a few to soften the bread a bit before serving.  'Unless you want [the bread] mega-crunchy.'  (Recipe from: Plenty by Yotam Ottolenghi.  Ebury Press, 2010.)