Ingredients
1/4C dry quinoa (160c, 28k, 6p, 3f)
1C homemade chicken broth (86c, 8.47k, 6.05p, 0f)
7 eggs (518c, 2.63k, 44.03. 44.03p, 0f)
2T flax seeds (120c, 8k, 4p, 8f)
6T water
1/4t Salt and Pepper
1/2C diced red bell pepper (15c, 3.5k, 1p, 1.25f)
1/2C diced yellow bell pepper (15c, 3.5k, 1p, 1.25f)
3T diced shallot (21c, 5.04k, 1p, 0f)
1/2C Manchego cheese (480c, 0k, 24p, 0f)
1C diced parsley (8c, 1.92k, .88p, .8f)
Small pinch of saffron threads
1/4 second olive oil spray (1c, 0k, 0p, pf)
Dish total: 1424c, 61.02k, 87.96p, 13.05f
12 servings
Per serving: 119c, 5.08k, 7.33p, 1.09f
Directions
First gather all the ingredients you will need and wash the vegetables.
2) Prepare quinoa: Soak quinoa in 2 cups water for ~5 minutes, then swish with your fingers to clean. Drain via a sieve, and rinse under running water. Add broth to a saucepan and bring to a boil, add quinoa, stir and cover, and bring back to a boil. Then lower heat so that it simmers, put a lid on and cook for ~15 minutes, or until the seed is fluffy (when cooked the seed looks like a tadpole with a little tail) and the liquid is absorbed. While cooking quinoa prepare the rest of the recipe. (Broth can be any you prefer, veggie broth will be lower in calories but you loose the protein. You can lower calories and protein even further by using plain water.)
3) Prepare flax seeds: Grind flax seeds into a meal, and place the meal in a bowl with 6T water. Mix a bit with a fork to get everything wet and set aside for ~5-10 minutes to gel.
4) Prepare saffron: Crush the threads and soak in 2T non-boiling, hot water for ~5min. As it soaks, it will release an aroma and color. (More strands are not necessarily better with saffron.)
5) Turn oven on 350F. Place silicon cupcake forms in a muffin tin and spray with olive oil. Chop bell peppers, shallot, and parsley and set aside. Grate the cheese and set aside.
6) Whisk the eggs and add the flax seed mixture as well as the saffron mixture, salt, pepper, and parsley.
7) Place ~1t of quinoa, and bits of the veggies + cheese into each silicon cup. Pour eggs mixture into the cups giving a little stir to make sure the egg mixture gets to the bottom of the cup. Place bits of the red bell pepper on top of the muffin, pressing so it is just under the egg mixture but visible. Place in the oven and bake 30 minutes.
8) Remove from oven, remove bites from the silicon cups, and place on a cooling rack.
[x] Flexitarian + Omnivore
[x] Gluten free
[x] Weight Maint
[x] Keto Diet
[x] Mediterranean
[O] Lectin Avoidance: eggs, peppers
[x] Oxilate Avoidance
[x] Purine Avoidance
[x] Allergies: EGGS
— with changes —
[x] Vegan: use veggie eggs + broth
[x] Vegetarian: use veggie broth
[x] Pescatarian: use veggie broth
Comments
I place the red pepper bits just under the top so if I make a variety of bites I know this one is the Spanish version. Also, this will be a brighter yellow in color than other bites due to the saffron.
Vegan Note: I tried making these with no eggs, but only Chia seeds or Flax meal as egg replacements. The only thing I managed was to burn myself as the filling fell out of the silicon muffin holder and onto my hands. Then I tried cooking them longer, 75 minutes with the flax meal, to see if it would come together. It did, but not enough to have it free standing. So finally I ate it from the muffin holder and decided if I was desperate I would eat this for the nutrients, but it did not make me look forward to more of them. Actually I threw them in the trash, they were not really good. I will not give up yet, there are more options for me to try.
Manchego cheese: Spanish sheep cheese (try saying that 3 times fast!), aged between 90 days and 2 years. Firm consistency with buttery texture and small, even air pockets. Has a well developed flavor characteristic of sheep’s milk. If you do not have Manchego, substitute Parmesan, Romano, or a very sharp, white, English cheddar.