Merchant Gourmet Red and White Quinoa with Sweet and Sticky Cod

Did you know that 2016 is the year of the pulse? What a great excuse to try more pulses and grains!

Regular readers will know that I love trying new foods and have recently been adding a wider range of pulses and grains to my families meals. Grains and pulses are full of nutritional goodness and add such delicious flavours to a dish.

When Merchant Gourmet asked me if I would like to try some of their products and use them in one of my recipes I could not wait to get started.

To kick start the new year, Merchant Gourmet have teamed up with top chef Sophie Michell to promote their new, nationwide campaign "Eat Well, Live Well". They want people to start the new year as they mean to go on, starting and maintaining healthy eating habits and incorporating more pulses and grains into their diets. Over the year Sophie will be sharing some delicious recipes which she hopes will inspire the nation to eat healthier! Healthy meals which taste great are winning meals in my book!

To get you started I have created a quick and easy recipe which is full of flavour and ideal for a midweek meal when you are short of time. Thanks to the Chinese five spice and the Manuka honey it is full of flavour.

This is what I did...

Red and White Quinoa with Sweet and Sticky Cod

Ingredients - Serves 4

2 x 250g Merchant Gourmet Ready to Eat Red and White Quinoa

4 Cod loins

2 tsp Chinese five spice

1 tsp ground ginger

4 tsp Manuka honey

1 tbsp olive oil

200g baby sweet corn

50g green beans, trimmed

50g tenderstem broccoli

50g asparagus tips

4 tsp olive oil for cooking

Method

1 - To make the sweet and sticky sauce place the Chinese five spice, ground ginger, Manuka honey and 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a bowl and mix together

2 - Spread a layer of the sauce over both sides of the cod loin and place on side for 15 minutes to allow the flavours to soak into the fish

3 - Heat 2 teaspoons of olive oil in a frying pan over a medium heat and place the cod loin in and cook for 5 minutes on a low heat

4 - While the cod is cooking heat the remaining 2 teaspoons of olive oil in a wok and gently stir fry the baby sweet corn, green beans and asparagus

5 - After the cod has cooked for five minutes turn and cook for a further five minutes

6 - Continue stirring the vegetables regularly, once they start to brown a little reduce the heat to low

7 - To heat the ready to eat quinoa simply squeeze the packet to loosen the quinoa. Tear the pack open by 1cm and place in the microwave for 45 minutes 900W or 55 minutes 800W

To serve simply place half a pack of quinoa on a plate, top with the stir fry vegetables and finally finished with the sweet, sticky cod.

The sweet sticky sauce give the fish an extra kick of flavour. The Chinese five spice and ginger go perfectly with the sweet, floral Manuka honey to give the cod a spicy caramelised finish.

Disclosure: Merchant Gourmet sent me a selection of products for the purpose of this post. No cash payment was received. All words, views and opinions are my owns and 100% honest.