Quinoa, Bacon and Mushroom Cake

Chocolate & Zucchini, Daily Adventures in a Parisian Kitchen, by Clotilde Dusoulier
Cookbook 4, Recipe 3, (Total 9)

This author likes to explore French natural foods stores and is shows up in recipes such as this with quinoa. I've cooked a couple of breakfast dishes with quinoa never a savory dinner.

Did I like it? Yes, it was interesting in a positive way. I would describe it as almost barney - like you would describe an English farmhouse cheddar. I was happy to find it paired very well with the Carignane wine that I purchased to drink with it. I first enjoyed Carignane two years ago at a restaurant with beef (which I generally do not enjoy) it was excellent. I later learned that it's usually a grape used for blending into other wines not featured on its own. Anyway another interesting bit of info is quinoa is actually an herb not a grain.


Recipe
Bring to a boil 2 cups of water, add one cup of quinoa and a pinch of salt. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes, turn heat off and leave cover on for 5 more minutes.

Cook 3 strips of thick cut bacon, place aside. Drain the fat out of the pan and cook 1/2 a chopped onion over medium heat until soft, add 1/2 lb sliced mushrooms and cook covered 3 minutes or until the mushrooms have given off their liquid. Cook with out the cover until most of the liquid is gone.

Chop 1/4 cup parsley and mixed with crumbled bacon.

Beat 2 eggs and 2 T cream in a bowl, add 1/4 tsp salt and pepper to taste. Add cooked quinoa and mushrooms, fold in bacon and parsley.

Place in a 7 inch spring form pan and bake at 400 for 35 minutes, until a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Side note: Stephen wasn't around to hold this book down so I could get a closer shot of the recipe. If you click on most of the cookbook/recipe shots - they will enlarge big enough for you to read the original recipe.