Laylita’s recipes

It was hard to come up with a name for this dish; I was inspired by the Ecuadorian arroz marinero or seafood rice which is a very typical dish in the coastal region of Ecuador and since quinoa has more tenderness to it than the long grain rice we use for seafood rice I was also inspired by thought of a good seafood risotto. The first impression by my friends who tasted this seafood quinoa was that it reminded them of paella, and you could say that arroz marinero is the South American cousin of Spanish paella (but that’s another story and another recipe), so paella made sense, but I still wasn’t sure what the most appropriate name should be: seafood quinotto (this sounds the sexiest to me), quinoa paella, or seafood quinoa.

Regardless of the name, it was a success and the quinoa took in the flavors of the seafood and spices even better than the rice usually does, I decided ultimately to go with seafood quinoa as the name because it goes very well with the sides that are typically served with the seafood rice: plantains, tomato and onion curtido, avocado, lime slices and hot sauce (a good cold beer or a glass of pinot are also good accompaniments). I left the shells on the shrimp because it adds more flavor to the quinoa and this was prepared for a casual party with good friends, but if you’re making this for a more formal event, where people don’t want to peel the shrimp with their hands (only my French husband can actually peel a shrimp using a fork and knife, and even then he only gets half of the shrimp meat out), then I recommend peeling the shrimp. Finally, this can made with any combination of seafood that is available.

Ingredients:

2 cups uncooked quinoa, prewashed

2 tbs sunflower oil + 3 tbs sunflower oil

2 tbs finely chopped white onion + 1 cup finely chopped white onion

1 garlic clove, minced

4 cups seafood broth

2 garlic heads, peeled and crushed

1 bell pepper, diced

½ tbs cumin

1 tsp achiote

1 cup cooked peas

1 bunch of cilantro, finely chopped

1 lb raw shrimp, deveined and with shells on

1 lb small clams, well cleaned

1 lb squid or calamari, both tubes and tentacles, cut in small pieces

½ lb bay scallops

Salt and pepper to taste

Suggested side dishes – Fried ripe plantains, tomato and onion curtido, avocado slices, lime slices and aji criollo.

Preparation:

1. Heat 2 tbs of oil on medium heat in a saucepan, add 2 tbs of onion and garlic, and cook until soft, about 3-5 minutes.
2. Add the quinoa and the seafood broth, bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and let simmer for about 15 minutes or until the water has evaporated and quinoa is tender, save for later.
3. Heat the remaining 3 tbs of oil on medium heat in a large sauté pan, add the chopped onions and crushed garlic, stir frequently and cook until the onions are tender, about 5 minutes.
4. Add the cumin, achiote, salt, pepper and diced bell pepper and cook for another 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
5. Add ½ of the chopped cilantro, stir in well.
6. Add the raw shrimp and the clams, stir and cook for about 3 minutes.
7. Stir in the cooked quinoa, peas, calamari and bay scallops, cook until the seafood is done, no longer than 5 minutes.
8. Add the remaining ½ of the chopped cilantro, and additional salt or pepper if needed.
9. Serve with fried ripe plantains, tomato and onion curtido or salad, avocado, lime slices, and aji criollo or hot sauce.

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