Happy new year! Welcome back to the start, a place for good intentions and new routines. January is the month of “health food”, but since I’m not a nutritionist, I’m going to avoid any of that talk and instead showcase two dishes I like to cook when I’m looking after myself. I’m not up to speed on the nutritional spec, but I know they make me feel full and fit, and they’re also full of flavour. It also gives me the opportunity to talk about one of my favourite ingredients: quinoa.
Quinoa’s rise in Irish home kitchens has been quiet but confident, the sort of shift that happens when cooks start looking for something that behaves like the familiar, but tastes and fuels you like something new. Even though it’s often spoken about as a modern superfood, quinoa’s story stretches back thousands of years to the Andean highlands, where it was prized by the Inca for its stamina-giving qualities and its ability to flourish in harsh conditions. What we now see packaged neatly on supermarket shelves was once a lifeline crop that was nutrient-dense, reliable and incredibly versatile.
What makes quinoa particularly useful for the home chef is how naturally it slips into the role usually reserved for rice, potato and pasta. It’s a seed, technically, but it cooks like a grain; quickly, evenly and without demanding too much attention. It gives you that satisfying comfort without leaving the plate feeling stodgy, which is especially useful in Irish cooking, where we often rely on hearty starches to round out a meal. But the real magic lies in how eager it is to take on flavour. Think of quinoa as a blank canvas with better intentions: toast it lightly in the pan before boiling and you’ll get a warm nuttiness; simmer it in a stock and it quietly absorbs every note. Add herbs, citrus, or spiced oils after cooking, and it responds like it was made for them. It’s this generosity, this willingness to adapt, that makes quinoa such a clever addition to your menus.
The first recipe this week showcases quinoa in all its glory. It is cooked slowly in the oven to allow any water to evaporate and really soak up the spices. After that, it is topped with charred steak and a beautiful dressing based on the famed Irish-made White Mausu peanut rayu. This is a sweet and salty peanut and chilli condiment that is easily blitzed up into a handy dressing with some lime juice. The chilli oil is absorbed by the baked quinoa, with some rocket leaves heightening the spice. All in all, it makes for a very tasty and light dinner that will have you feeling full in minutes.
Mark Moriarty’s simple tasty meals to make back-to-work that little bit easier
Mark Moriarty: It’s January, quinoa’s time to shine in the kitchen
Mark Moriarty’s new year recipe for chicken honey and soy with brown rice and mirin
Mark Moriarty’s new year recipe for quinoa salad with charred steak and rayu dressing
Speaking of minutes, the second dish is one I throw together when that’s all I have to get dinner on the table. Chicken is dusted in cornflour and fried off with a selection of vegetables. Feel free to use up whatever is lying in the depths of yours. A simple sauce is thickened with more of that cornflour and the whole thing comes together in 15 minutes. It’s high on seasoning and a perfect midweek meal.
