Gluten Free Mock Kisir Recipe

Tonight some of my friend's came over for a belated birthday celebration.  I decided to have a Middle Eastern theme, so we had baba ganoush, hummus, olives, and kebobs (beef, red peppers, pineapple, peppers, mushrooms and grape tomatoes).  We marinated the stew meat in Italian dressing for a couple of hours.  The Italian dressing tenderized the meat, so that it was less chewy and very delicious.

I wanted to make a Turkish dish called kisir.  Kisir is a traditional sidedish made with bulgur wheat, cucumbers, tomatoes, onions, peppers, parsley, mint lots of lemon juice, and lots of olive oil.  A tomato paste is used to help give it the beautiful reddish color.  Unfortunately, I could not use bulgur, because it is not gluten free.  So, I chose to substitute quinoa.  Even though this is not really kisir, it has some of the same flavors.  It is a good substitution for someone who likes the same flavors that kisir provides, but it is gluten free.  Here is my recipe.

Gluten Free Mock Kisir 

2 cups of quinoa

2 cups of water or broth
3 tbsp tomato paste
1/2 cup olive oil
6 green onions- finely chopped
2 small onions- finely chopped
2 cucumbers- finely chopped
2 green peppers- finely chopped
juice of 2 lemons
1 tsp cumin
3 tablespoons chopped parsley
2 tablespoons chopped mint
1 teaspoon dried dill
salt to taste
2 tomatoes, finely chopped

Put the quinoa in a medium saucepan and cover it with water or broth.  (I used vegetable broth, because we had a vegetarian join us for the dinner party.  You can use chicken broth as well.)  Add the tomato paste and mix together well.  Bring the quinoa mixture to a simmer, and then cook until it is soft.  It should take about about 15-20 minutes.

In a large bowl, mix the onions, cucumbers, peppers, tomatoes, parsley, mint, and dill.  Add the lemon juice, olive oil, and a few pinches of salt.  Mix well and let the veggie mixture sit for a few minutes for the salt to dissolve and the flavors to blend.  Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.  Pour the cooked quinoa into the veggie mixture, mix well, and serve.

My friend at See Mommy Do It made a wonderful dessert to end our evening.  She used her amazing almond cake as layers topped with whip cream and strawberries.  It was absolutely delicious.  Thank you Krista for ending our evening so sweetly!

This quinoa was an excellent substitution to this dish.  The mock kisir still had a lemony taste, but all of the fresh vegetables kept it light delicious.  It balanced our kebobs nicely.  You could also eat this as a main dish.    It is great to take with you as a lunch to work or school.  Enjoy!

~Cassidy