Good roughage - quinoa, tomato and green olive terrine

Growing up, my mother always had a saying for those foods we never really liked, but she insisted we eat. For instance, I could never brook argument with her over untoasted muesli, bulgur wheat (I'm Armenian - and this equates to sacrilege), chewable vitamins, and bran of any description. 


Mum called it good roughage.


Not that we ate roughage on a regular basis, but I was never allowed to leave these things on my plate. So who knew that at age 32, my palate has morphed so dramatically to be so sophisticated as to crave roughage? My new favourite form of the good stuff is quinoa. I've bored friends senseless about it, argued over its pronunciation (my Chilean friend confirms it's pronounced just as it's spelled...the foodie magazines say otherwise - I say, get a Spanish-speaking friend). All you need to know: it's crunchy, it's a superfood, and best of all - great in terrines. My mate Stephane has a lovely recipe which contains quinoa, which is quite easy to make and a lovely accompaniment to a simple summer meal. I used black quinoa and you lightly fry this up for a few minutes with some softened chopped shallots, until the grains are coated in olive oil.

Then cover this with water, bring to the boil and gently simmer for about fifteen minutes, or until the quinoa is cooked. When ready, it should be slightly crunchy. In another pan, simmer some veggie stock and a dash of white wine. Then add three gelatin sheets, which should be pre-softened in water. I think I've finally got the hang of these things:

Whisk the wine/stock/gelatin mixture briskly, bringing to the boil before removing from heat. In your terrine dish, layer some peeled tomatoes (tinned are fine), sliced green olives and the quinoa at regular intervals. Then pour the mixture over the top, set aside to cool and refrigerate.

You don't need large amounts of any of these ingredients, and I believe that you can add just about any layer of vegetable that you like. The original recipe calls for preserved lemon, but I'm not a fan, so I omitted it. The recipe recommends a setting period of 24 hours in the fridge, but a small version I made of this terrine was ready in a couple of hours. 

Here is the finished product! It has a lovely tang, and is quite refreshing with snags and salad. 

What was your version of good roughage?