Iron Chef Challenge: Smoky chickpea, feta and quinoa salad

Just what I needed-- a challenge and inspiration! The secret ingredient for the first Vegan MoFo Iron Chef Challenge was chickpeas. We spent the weekend at the coast, so I knew I'd have to make something quick for dinner when we got home Sunday evening. Nothing new there. On the car ride home I developed a craving for feta. A salad seemed in order, and a filling, nutritious base of quinoa seemed perfect. The flavors came together beautifully-- tart feta, smoky seasoning, sweet tomato sauce, and hearty chickpeas make a light but filling meal.

Smoky chickpea, feta and quinoa salad

vegan, gluten-free

serves 4

Ingredients

• 1 C vegan feta (I used this recipe, without the rosemary)
  
• 1 C uncooked quinoa
• 1 C vegetable broth
• 1 C water
• 1 C tomato sauce
• 1 tsp Trader Joe's South African Smoke Seasoning or smoked paprika
• 1 tsp smoked salt
• 1 can chickpeas
• 2 stalks of green onion, thinly sliced
• spinach or salad greens of your choice

Directions

• Make the feta.
• Rinse the quinoa in a fine mesh colander. I like to toast it by dumping it-- still damp-- in a pot over low heat, shaking it every few minutes until it dries and starts to turn golden and release a toasty fragrance. Add the broth and water, raise heat to bring to a boil, cover tightly, and turn heat to low. Let simmer for 15 minutes, remove from heat and let sit for 10 minutes before removing the lid.
• Mix tomato sauce, spice and salt into the quinoa. Add chickpeas and green onions.
• To serve, spoon quinoa mix (about a cup) over a bed of spinach (or other greens) and top with feta to taste (about 1/4 cup). It's delicious warm or cold!

Lightning salsa mac & cheez

Okay, this might not count as a recipe. You know when you get home at 7:30pm and you're so hungry that the cats' food starts to look tempting?

That's why we keep a few boxes of Roads End Organic Mac & Chreese in the pantry. We tried the brown rice pasta version a few years ago and didn't like it much. Luckily, it's gotten better or I've gotten better at preparing it. We gobbled this up and Erik asked for seconds, but there was none left-- we ate it all in one sitting.

There are many ways to riff off this recipe-- try a different salsa, change out the veggies, add different spices to go along with the flavor theme. You can also take it from a near-instant dish to a rather swank meal by forgoing the boxed mix and making a cheesy sauce from scratch. Here are three good ones:

• Easy macaroni & cheeze from FatFree Vegan Kitchen


• Mac & Cheese from Vegan Yum Yum


• Macaroni & Cheese from VegNews

Lightning salsa mac & cheez

vegan, gluten-free

Ingredients

• 1 box Roads End Organic Penne & Chreese (with gluten-free brown rice pasta)
  
  That's 6oz of pasta or about 1 1/2 cups dry if you want to use your own.


• 6oz of salsa
  
  That's 1/2 jar of Trader Joe's salsa verde, my favorite in this recipe.


• 1 cup faux ham, chopped (or other faux meat, soy product or beans)


• 1 cup broccoli, chopped (or spinach, or something green)


• 1/2 red pepper, chopped (or carrots, or something red, orange or yellow)


• 1 tsp ground coriander


• 1/2 tsp ground cumin


• 1/2 tsp ground chipotle


• a handful of fresh minced cilantro

Directions

• Boil pasta according to package directions. With wheat-free pasta it is CRITICAL not to overcook. Test at the shortest given time and every 30 seconds thereafter until ready, then drain and rinse for 2 minutes in cold water.


• While the pasta boils, saute the faux ham and broccoli over medium heat in a covered nonstick frying pan. You might have to add a tablespoon or two of water to cook the broccoli all the way.


• Melt 2 tbsp margarine in a saucepan and add the cheeze mix powder, or make your own cheeze sauce.


• Add the spices to the saucepan, stir and heat through.


• Now dump everything together in whichever pan will fit, mix thoroughly, and serve.


• For an extra treat, smooth into an ovenproof casserole dish, cover with a thin layer of breadcrumbs (I have yet to find a panko replacement), sprinkle with sweet paprika, and bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes.