Roasted Cauliflower Quinotto

What exactly is a quinotto (pronounced "kee-no-to")? It's basically a risotto of quinoa (pronounced "keen-wah"). As I'm allergic to rice, I obviously can't have risotto, so I decided to go ahead and start experimenting with a grain I could have, which is quinoa. I've often thought of quinoa as a cross between corn and rice. This is usually how I explain it to people when I have to explain I have food allergies and that I can only have quinoa, which most people have never heard of.

Quinoa is actually the only natural grain on planet Earth that has protein. This makes it great for vegetarians and vegans alike, as it can be a nutritional staple in meat-free diets. It has a slight nutty flavor, which you can smell when you toast it. It can also be ground and made into a flour, which lacks gluten, so isn't very good for breads, but is definitely good for crepes and pancakes, etc.

There's two varities that I've seen here in the states, which is normal (white) quinoa and then red quinoa. Red quinoa, to me, has more of a bolder flavor. I usually stick to the basic color rule: Red wine, red meat, red quinoa. Red quinoa is more nuttier and needs deeper, heartier flavors. I've actually been working on a quinotto recipe where I use red wine and beef stock, but more on that later.

When you cook quinoa, you want it to have the bright grain shining through. This is usually when you can see that it's al dente. Some people may find it to be a bit too grainy at this point and it's easier to digest when it's been cooked longer. But it definitely has the best texture at the bright grain point.

The other thing you need to know about quinoa is that it may or may not need to be rinsed, because some quinoas have a bitter outer coating around the grain. I've learned this through trial and error, as I've cooked quinoa out of the box and been perfectly fine with certain brands but with others, I haven't been so lucky. I used to buy the 365 brand quinoa but they stopped carrying it at the WholeFoods I went to. Can you believe that? I've had to start purchasing other brands. The most obvious brand is the Ancient Harvest Quinoa, which I've found that you usually don't have to rinse. The other brand would be the Alter Eco quinoa. Mostly, this is the brand that I buy for red quinoa. With Eden quinoa, I find you DO have to wash it, otherwise it will be very bitter. Then, of course, I've also tried Bob's Red Mill quinoa also. All of them are basically the same, although they may or may not have to be washed.

Now with this recipe, we used an '07 Valley Oaks Fetzer Chardonnay as the wine in this recipe. My wife and I found that it was lovely in the quinotto and that it's light fruityness also complimented the flavors of the quinotto as well. It's easily the perfect pairing.


Roasted Cauliflower Quinotto

1 small head cauliflower, stem cut off, florets chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup whole milk
2 slices chopped bacon
2 3/4 cups unsalted chicken stock
2 large shallots, chopped
1 cup organic quinoa
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 tablespoons sour cream
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
3 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
Olive oil
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 450F. Pour 3 tablespoons of olive oil into a roasting pan and heat in the oven until almost smoking. Add in one half of the head of cauliflower and 2 tablespoons fresh chives and toss to coat in the oil. Roast in the oven for 20-25 minutes until nicely browned.

Then saute one half of the cauliflower head and the chopped cloves of garlic in a pot over high heat in a tablespoon of olive oil and a tablespoon of butter. Season with salt. When the cauliflower starts to brown, add the cup of milk. Let boil for 5 minutes. Drain into a blender and whiz gradually for 30 seconds until smooth. Return puree to the pot it was roasted in and let sit over low heat, not letting it boil.

Heat a dry frying pan over high heat and when hot, fry the bacon until browned and crisp. Drain on a paper towel and set aside. Heat the chicken stock to a gentle simmer in another pot.

Add one tablespoon olive oil to the bacon pan drippings and sweat the shallots for about 5 minutes. Stir in the quinoa and cook for a further 2 minutes to toast the grain. Pour in the wine and cook until reduced.


Now pour in one-fourth of the stock and season with salt and pepper. Stir until the liquid has been absorbed, then stir in another ladeful of stock, seasoning with salt and pepper. Continue cooking and stirring, gradually adding the stock and seasoning wiht salt and pepper, until the quinoa is tender, with a bright white grain. This should probably take close to 15 minutes.

Reduce last ladeful full of stock until it is almost half evaporated, about 3 minutes. Stir in a ladeful of the roasted cauliflower puree, and continue to stir for another minute. Then stir in the oven roasted cauliflower, sour cream, Parmesan, and 1 tablespoon butter. Taste to see if seasoning needs adjusting, then serve in plates or shallow bollows.

Garnish with fried bacon and remaining fresh chives.