A seed grown in S. America , used as a food staple.
It takes a little less time than rice to cook, you can cook it the same way as you do rice, but i don't recommend it. Unless you like soggy, clumpy, heavy quinoa. And noone in their right mind does. I use it all the time in place of rice, couscous and even pasta. It has a mild pleasant flavor. Another benefit is that it is a seed, and not a grain, so you carb-haters, it's perfect for you. And, it's a complete protein, so you veg-heads, it's also perfect for you. Ok, on with the recipe:
Take a couple nice acorn squash and slice it in half (be careful, they are hard as rocks, get out you biggest, baddest, chefs-knife : 
Aren't they pretty? Drizzle with Olive oil, salt/pepper and roast in oven uncovered for about 45 min at 400 deg. or so, or until nice and tender. Meanwhile, take a cup of quinoa, rinse it, and add it to a shallow skillet over med temp. and toast it until it's light brown. Watch it carefully, it will burn quickly if not moved around.
it's fine to add it wet to the pan, it will quickly dry out and toast. Next, assemble and chop the veggies:
I used the above, feel free to use whatever you want. I've omitted the squash and added swiss chard, it was great that way too. I generally use whatever looks particularly fetching that day in the produce dept. The only thing I would not omit under any circumstance is the mushrooms. Use brown ones, like crimini if you can, they have more flavor. The mushrooms are essential for a rich earthy flavor. And don't omit the garlic and onion. So take said garlic/onion and saute in a healthy (meaning alot) of olive oil, salt/pepper until lightly browned and soft and pungent:
At this point your quinoa should be sufficiently toasted, so add chicken broth, or water (and salt if using water) to the fry pan until covered. Your goal is to cook the quinoa until it's translucent and tender, and for all the moisture to be absorbed, you want an end product that is fluffy, not soggy and wet. this is why i cook this in a fry pan and not a pot. Stir frequently during this process, you may need to add more liquid periodically. At the end if it's done cooking but still kind of wet, crank the heat up and stir while the moisture evaporates and the quinoa is fluffy and dry.
Ok, so add the mushrooms finely chopped to the onion/garlic mixture, and add a nice pat (meaning: 2 pats) of butter. Or not, it's up to you.
Your goal here is to have the mushrooms exude all the liquid and to brown, and if you're really lucky produce a nice fond on the bottom of the pan. Fond=flavor. So fiddle with the temp so it's high enough to do that, but not so high as to burn. This could take about 20 min or so. Next, add the rest of the veggies and cook until crisp tender, but again, make sure the moisture has mostly evaporated.
When all is said and done, add your herbs and adjust for seasonings. I like fresh parsley and rosemary. Also, add chopped nuts if you want, I like walnuts or pine-nuts. I also add chopped dried cranberries. Add a nice healthy handful of parm. cheese. Mix and spoon into squash.
Because I like to be extra decadent, I also top with provolone cheese and broil till bubbly. Now, serve to your somewhat hesitant and meatloving family, and assure them it will be tasty because you got it from me. And I don't lie, or ever eat yucky food. |
