Mediterranean Sprouted Rice and Quinoa with Sheep Sausage

I know I've mentioned how much I enjoy my pressure cooker.  Well, I really enjoyed it again the other night.  I was thinking about what to make for supper using what was on hand and without having to get overly complicated.  I wanted to use the sprouted rice and quinoa and finding the Thessaly sausage in the freezer provided the inspiration.


Thessaly sausage is a lamb sausage from Greece as I understand it, though I have found sites through Google claiming Thessaly sausage is beef.  Since more say it is lamb I'm going with lamb.  That said, mine was made with sheep, Rainbow the Ram to be exact.  Yes, once again I'm using homemade sausage.  I know there's not a lot of difference but there is a flavor difference between lamb and grown sheep.  Since the determination between the two is age I figure I'm still following the intent of the sausage. 

Mediterranean Sprouted Rice and Quinoa with Thessaly Sausage

The sprouted rice and quinoa were cooked using the same method I'd use for brown rice in the pressure cooker.  The rest of the ingredients were stirred in at the end.  This ended up being a simple yet tasty and filling meal.  The two cups in the recipe refers to the rice measuring cup that came with the pressure cooker. 


Mediterranean Sprouted Rice and Quinoa


2 cups Sprouted Rice and Quinoa, 1.5 cups if cooking on the stove top
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbs olive oil
1 15 oz can diced tomatoes
6 oz crumbled Feta cheese
1 Tbs minced Basil
1 Tbs minced Oregano
1 Tbs minced Thyme
1 Tbs minced Marjoram
2 Tbs minced Italian Parsley
salt
pepper


Put sprouted rice and quinoa mixture into the pressure cook and add liquid to the 2 cup line.  Add olive oil and garlic to the pressure cooker.  Stir to mix garlic in well.  Put on lid and set for pressure cooking for 7 minutes.  Once the timer goes off, allow the pressure to release naturally.  Remove the lid and stir to fluff.  Add the diced tomatoes, Feta cheese, and herbs and stir to combine.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Serve with grilled meat and enjoy.  Serves 4 - 6.


For a bit of extra flavor you can use broth instead of water to cook the sprouted rice and quinoa.  I used some venison broth I had in the freezer.

Left over Mediterranean Sprouted Rice and Quinoa with Mergez Sausage

We had the leftovers for supper a couple of nights later and the Mediterranean Sprouted Rice and Quinoa reheated well in the microwave.  I added a 2 Tbs of water to it to help steam it and fluffed it halfway through.  Since we'd eaten our last package of Thessaly sausage I grilled some Mergez sausage to go with it.  Mergez is a spicy lamb sausage from North Africa.  Again, this was made with Rainbow the Ram.  I think we like the pairing with the Mergez slightly better.  I think that grilled meat skewers, especially lamb/sheep, seasoned in a Mediterranean style would go well with it also.


Since flatbreads are eaten with meals in many countries around the Mediterranean I was wanting a flat bread with out meal.  Sadly, I didn't think about it in time to try out one of several pita recipes I'm wanting to try.  I ended up heating up some flour tortillas to use for the flat bread. 


I hope you give this recipe a try.  The sprouted rice and quinoa both are tasty and good for you so it is a winning combination.  If you try it let me know what you think.


Uncle T