Photo Credit: Foodie Chap/Liam Mayclem

I had a chance to spend a fun morning with Liam Mayclem, the affable and food-loving host of KCBS radio (740 AM/106.9 FM in the San Francisco Bay Area) show Foodie Chap.  I discussed my journey from lifelong foodlover to primary care doctor, my sabbatical to cooking school and a restaurant kitchen, and back to the doctor’s office to launch the Thrive Kitchen healthy cooking program for patients at Kaiser Permanente San Francisco.

I also showed him how to make the crunchy quinoa, kale and cauliflower rice salad that was featured at last night’s Thrive Kitchen Eat Your Greens! class.  For the full audio recording of the interview, visit the Foodie Chap post here: http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2017/03/20/healthy-cooking-with-foodie-chap-and-dr-shiue-of-thrive-kitchen/

And here’s the recipe:

Crispy, Crunchy Winter Quinoa and Cauliflower Rice Salad With Pickled Currants

Recipe inspired by Crispy Brown Rice Kabbouleh, In Everything I Want To Eat, Jessica Koslow, Abrams Books, 2016

Serves 6 to 8

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons dried currants
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
3 cups cooked quinoa, multicolor preferred (from 1 cup raw cooked in 2 cups water)
1 tsp fine Kosher salt, adjust to taste
3-4 Tbsp olive oil, for frying quinoa
11/2 cups coarsely chopped cauliflower florets
2 cups curly kale, stems removed, chopped
1/2 English cucumber, diced
1 scallion, thinly sliced
1 cup Italian parsley or mint leaves, chopped
1/3 cup olive oil
2 teaspoons Aleppo pepper or 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
2 teaspoons sumac (optional)
Freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

Combine currants and vinegar in a small bowl; let sit at least 2 hours and up to 1 day.
Cook quinoa in a large saucepan of boiling salted water until tender and water is absorbed, about 20 minutes. Fluff with a fork, then spread out on a baking sheet to cool. Reserve 1 cup to dry completely on paper towels.
Meanwhile, pulse cauliflower in a food processor until finely chopped. Transfer to a large bowl. Add chopped kale.
Warm about 3 Tbsp of olive oil in a skillet, then add the cup of reserved, cooled quinoa and fry on medium high heat until crispy, about 10 minutes. Drain on paper towels.
Add to the cauliflower and kale the cooled cooked quinoa, currants with their liquid, cucumber, scallion, parsley or mint, olive oil, Aleppo pepper, and sumac, if using; toss to combine and season with salt, black pepper, and more vinegar, if desired. Scatter with crisped quinoa before serving.

Nutritional Content: Cal 216, Carbs 17 g, Fat 15g, Protein 4 g, Sodium 287 mg, Sugar 1 g

To your health!

You’re invited to join my healthy eating community on Facebook, www.Facebook.com/TheDoctorsSpicebox! And if you’d like to cook with me, visit the Kaiser Permanente San Francisco Health Education webpage for information about the Thrive Kitchen and to register for a class.