Julie Girling is ECPA’s final guest for our Let’s Cook! series. Julie, who is deeply involved in agriculture and food issues, was a Member of the European Parliament for South West England from 2009 – 2019. This episode was filmed in January 2019. Presented by Graeme Taylor, ECPA Director of Public Affairs, Let’s Cook! is all about exploring modern challenges of producing food in Europe. Graeme and Julie discuss European legislation and regulation, as well as the why-and-how consumers can trust the rigorous standards for food grown both within Europe and for food imported into Europe – such as the delicious avocadoes being prepared for this episode’s colourful recipe.
Learn more about Julie Girling’s views on EU food policy, production and more in Episode 3 of Let’s Cook!
See the recipe below:
Colourful quinoa with vegetable ingredients:
½ cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed
1 cup frozen organic sugar snap peas
½ cup of pea shoots
⅓ cup slivered almonds or pepitas (green pumpkin seeds)
1 medium raw beet, peeled
1 medium-to-large carrot (or 1 additional medium beet), peeled
2 cups packed spinach and chard, roughly chopped
1 avocado, cubed
Vinaigrette
3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons lime juice
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint or cilantro
2 tablespoons honey or maple syrup or agave nectar
½ to 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard, to taste
¼ teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Slice of grapefruit or orange, for decoration
INSTRUCTIONS
To cook the quinoa: First, rinse the quinoa in a fine mesh colander under running water for a minute or two. In a medium-sized pot, combine the rinsed quinoa and 1 cup water. Bring the mixture to a gentle boil, then cover the pot, reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes. Remove the quinoa from heat and let it rest, still covered, for 5 minutes. Uncover the pot, drain off any excess water and fluff the quinoa with a fork. Set it aside to cool.
To cook the sugar snap peas: Bring a pot of water to boil, then add the frozen sugar snap pear and cook just until the beans are warmed through, about 5 minutes. Drain and set aside.
To toast the almonds or pepitas: In a small skillet over medium heat, toast the almonds or pepitas, stirring frequently, until they are fragrant and starting to turn golden on the edges, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a large serving bowl to cool.
To prepare the beet(s) and/or carrots: First of all, feel free to just chop them as finely as possible using a sharp chef’s knife OR grate them on a box grater. If you have a spiralizer, you can spiralize them using blade C, then chop the ribbons into small pieces using a sharp chef’s knife. If you have a mandoline and julienne peeler (this is a pain), use the mandoline to julienne the beet and use a julienne peeler to julienne the carrot, then chop the ribbons into small pieces using a sharp chef’s knife.
To prepare the vinaigrette: Whisk together all of the ingredients until emulsified.
To assemble the salad: In your large serving bowl, combine the toasted almonds/pepitas, cooked sugar snap peas, prepared beet(s) and/or carrot, roughly chopped chard/arugula (see the note above about leftovers), cubed avocado and cooked quinoa.
Finally, drizzle dressing over the mixture (you might not need all of it) and gently toss to combine. You’ll end up with a pink salad if you toss it really well! Season to taste with salt (up to an additional ¼ teaspoon) and black pepper. Serve.
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