May 11: Grilled Salmon Steaks with Sauted Leeks and Quinoa

I have been dying to make quinoa for a while now, but haven't been able to find any at our local grocery store. Last week, I saw it and snatched it up. I decided to use the recipe for Quinoa with Caramelized Onions to go alongside some fresh salmon we picked up as well. In How to Cook Everything Vegetarian, they suggest replacing the 4 medium onions with 1 1/2 pounds of leeks, which is what I opted for. It's not a super quick cooking recipe, but it's pretty simple to cook. You follow the exact same recipe, just replacing the vegetable.

P.S. Leeks are not fun to clean. My new preferred method is (assuming you are using chopped leeks) to trim them down until just a little green remains, chop the white parts, and submerge them in a bowl of water. Lots of dirt gets stuck in the layers, and it is hard to get out unless the layers are separated.

Cook the leeks for about 20 minutes. Add the olive oil and brown sugar and cook, stirring occasionally for another 10 to 15 minutes. You toast the quinoa for a few minutes, and then add in the vegetable stock. Bring everything to a boil.

Here's what it looked like:

I remember thinking, "Those quinoa are small. Will they puff up? Is Paul going to be starving in like 10 minutes?" Nope and nope.

After it is boiling, add a couple sprigs of thyme, and reduce heat to low. Cook, covered, for about 15 minutes. 

Paul added salt and pepper to the salmon steaks and cooked them on the grill, heated to about 350 degrees.  It was a while back, but Paul thinks he cooked them for 6 to 7 minutes per side.

I had to ask Paul what to call these. "You know those salmon you cooked that have like the feet?" Paul: "You mean the steaks?" This is why we are married.

We added the salmon to a bed of the quinoa.


Oops. We forgot to eat a vegetable side with this dinner.

We really liked how this tuned out. The quinoa was nutty and caramelized from the brown sugar. I'm looking forward to trying this with onions to see how it turns out differently. Leeks are kind of creamy, so I wonder if it will be sweeter using onions.

Paul liked cooking these salmon steaks better than regular filets as well. You do have to avoid the bones a little, but it cooks up really nicely. I think with it being a thicker cut, you don't run the risk of overcooking it as much.