Quinoa with grilled aubergine (Encona Peruvian Amarillo sauce review)

Since both Salil and I love spicy food, we always have a hot sauce in our fridge. Our old favourite is the Encona hot pepper sauce, so when I was sent the Peruvian Amarillo sauce , a new addition to the Encona range of sauces, to sample, I was really excited and couldn't wait to try it out.

The Peruvian Amarillo Sauce is a blend of Peruvian Amarillo chillies, roasted onion, spices and herbs. It is subtly spicy with a hint of garlic and has a slightly sweet taste. It is also vegan friendly and gluten-free. 

What I liked about the sauce is that it has pretty distinct flavours and so works really well not just as a dip but even as a marinade or to drizzle over salads. I decided to use the sauce in a quick fix meal and was really pleased with the outcome. I brushed some sauce on aubergine slices, grilled them and served them alongside some quinoa.

Ingredients

1 cup quinoa (I have used red and white quinoa with Bulgar wheat)
2 cups vegetable stock

1 tbsp Peruvian Amarillo sauce

1 tsp olive oil

1 aubergine (eggplant), cut in thick slices

Dried parsley for garnish

Method

Rinse the quinoa under cold water. Add it to a saucepan with the vegetable stock and cook for 10-12 minutes (or as per packet instructions), or until cooked. You could also cook the quinoa in water but I just feel the stock gives it a nicer taste.

Mix the Peruvian sauce with the olive oil and brush both sides of the aubergine slices with this mixture.

Heat a grill pan on medium. Place the aubergine slices and grill on both sides until tender and lightly crisp. 

Once the quinoa is cooked, fluff it up with a fork. Check for seasoning.

Drizzle over some of the Amarillo sauce and garnish with parsley.

I was also sent the Mexican Smokey Jalapeño sauce which I used as a dip with some sweet potato chips. This sauce has quite a smokey flavour and a slightly fruity taste to it. This one is gluten-free too. 

I am waiting for a good day to get my barbecue on - this sauce will be just the thing I need.

Both the Smokey Jalapeño and the Peruvian Amarillo sauce are going to be staples in my kitchen!

Dairyfree strawberry smoothie

The other day, on my way back from work, I spotted some beautiful strawberries at our local grocer and couldn't resist buying them. I might have gotten a bit carried away and bought a lot more than I should have. So, for the last two days, strawberries have taken over. Today at work, I am snacking on strawberries with almond butter (which tastes amazing by the way, if you haven't tried it before) and we also made strawberry smoothie for breakfast with almond milk and a frozen banana. The strawberries were quite sweet and so didn't really need to add any sweetener to the smoothie but I've added just a little bit of maple syrup for taste.

Ingredients

1 cup strawberries, roughly chopped
1 cup almond milk
1 banana, chopped and frozen (for 4-5 hours)
1 tsp maple syrup

Method

Add all the ingredients to a powerful blender and blend. Pour into glass and top with some strawberries to make it look pretty :)