Pretentious Kitchen

So you heard about this whole Peruvian cuisine trend right? Here is my fresh take on an ancient ingredient: quinoa. Quinoa is a super-food (or so I've read) and pairs great with crunchy lettuce and hearty garbanzos. The great thing about this salad is how you can store your cooked ingredients for a few days and mix them up for a quick dinner or on a picnic. Our fresh salad has three components: quinoa, dressing, and garbanzo beans.

1. Quinoa: rinse your quinoa properly and boil in 2 parts water. Before you get your boil on, add in lemon juice and/or zest, salt and splash of EVOO. Boil that baby on MED until the water drops to the quinoa line, reduce heat and continue to boil until it's soft and fluffy! Cool your cooked quinoa in the fridge for any amount of time you would like. 2. Garbanzos: Preheat that oven to 375 F and while you wait, toss your washed garbanzos with EVOO, any flavor of balsamic, salt, pepper and a dash of cayenne pepper - to spice up your life. Foil line a baking pan and spread the dressed beans evenly. Roast those babies for 15 min and let them cool off in the fridge. 3. Dressing: (skip this step if you are not pretentious enough to only consume homemade salad dressing) Whisk equal parts EVOO and balsamic with a dash of your favorite spices. I use: salt, pepper, paprika, lemon juice, and a dash of truffle oil - mostly because truffle oil is super pretentious. Salad: So once all your hot ingredients have cooled, wash up and chop that crisp romaine head - toss in large bowl with fresh red onions, and your cooked quinoa & garbanzos. Finally top it all off with the dressing and freshly shredded aged asiago cheese.

Enjoy with a glass of crisp white white such as Jessup Cellars buttery Chardonnay! Questions anyone?? Class dismissed!