The inspiration for making this dish was two-fold. First, I went to the great little French restaurant in my neighborhood, Ici, for brunch a couple weekends ago, and I had the quinoa with roasted vegetables and pesto, which was really simple and delicious. Second, when I talked on the phone with my Mom last weekend, she told me about a bulgur recipe she makes, and it sounded like a healthy and simple weeknight meal. When I went to the store to buy the bulgur, I spied the quinoa and it occurred to me that it would be a slightly exotic stand-in for the bulgur wheat from Mom’s recipe.
Quinoa looks, tastes, and cooks like a grain, but is actually the seed produced by a flowering plant (of the Goosefoot or Chenopodium family, which in turn is related to Amaranthaceae, or spinach family, in case you are into botany). It is native to Peru, and has a long history there: it was reportedly revered by the Incas. Unlike beans, which must be paired with rice to make a complete amino acid profile, quinoa is a complete protein containing all nine essential amino acids. It is also packed with vitamins and high in fiber. And have I mentioned it is darned tasty?
The following recipe is basically the one my Mom gave me over the phone (substituting the bulgur for quinoa), and I duplicated it from memory, so forgive me, Mom, if it is at all wrong!
“Mom’s” Quick Quinoa
1 cup quinoa, rinsed and picked over
1 tomato, chopped
1 small onion, sliced thin
1 large clove garlic, minced
2 tsp olive oil
1/4 tsp rosemary, rubbed between your hands
1/4 tsp basil
1/4 tsp oregano
salt and pepper, to taste
2 cups broth (or water with bouillon)
1 cup chopped flat leaf parsley
After rinsing quinoa in a fine mesh sieve and picking out any foreign debris, place sieve in a bowl and fill with water. Let quinoa soak while you do chop the veggies and do the following:
Saute onions in the oil over medium heat until they reduce in size and start to brown (almost caramelized, but not quite), adding the garlic after about 5 minutes. Add tomato and spices and cook a few minutes more.
Drain the quinoa really well, then add to the pan. Stir around until much of the water has evaporated. Add broth, bring to a boil, cover and cook for 12-16 minutes until the quinoa is done (which you only know for sure by tasting!). It should be chewy but not crunchy when done. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. Right before serving, stir in the parley.
It is yummy on its own, but would also be delicious garnished with sour cream or plain yogurt and/or cherry tomatoes. This would be great as a side or main dish. You could serve it with a salad, quesadillas (what we did–see pic below), steamed vegetables, soup, you name it, be creative!
Serves 4 generously.
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August 11th, 2008 at 5:46 pm
[...] we already picked and used the tomatoes [pictured left, dwarfed by a ramekin] as a garnish on our quinoa, because as the Hubs pointed out, we could have made the tiniest salsa ever. The tomatoes, by the [...]
October 16th, 2008 at 4:02 pm
[...] the meantime, I changed my mind about the base of the dish, opting for red quinoa rather than pasta. I cooked that using vegetable broth rather than water to add a little more [...]