Sunday Night Dinners - Garden-Style Quinoa Pilaf

Greetings! I am in Chicago, most likely doing a boat tour of Chicago - weather permitting! That is something I've always wanted to do so I am super excited for this. The Frank Lloyd Wright tour on Saturday was AWESOME. I would definitely go back. If you have any interest in FLW, I highly recommend checking this out. I'll have a post coming on that next week!

Anyways, moving on. Here's the 2nd installment of "Sunday Night Suppers." I made Garden-Style Quinoa Pilaf; the recipe was in the August edition of the Lunds & Byerly's Organic & Natural magazine. Yep, I am still on a quinoa kick. The stuff rocks, people. So if you haven't tried it, you should. I had a friend coming up to spend the evening with me and thought it would be fun to introduce her to this new, trendy, Gluten Free grain. Plus, this recipes calls for quite a bit of slicing and dicing, so it was a fun one to make with a friend! Unfortunately I do not have any pics of the prep process because I did not want my friend to feel like a member of the paparazzi was in the kitchen! I do have a picture of the finished product when I had it as leftovers a day later!



Here is the recipe:

2 t. canola oil
1 T. minced shallot
1 clove garlic, minced
2 c. low-sodium chicken broth
2/3 c. quinoa
1 small bay leaf
1 spring fresh thyme (or 1/2 t. dried)
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 T. butter
1 c. small-dice red bell pepper
1 c. small-dice green bell pepper
1/2 c. small-dice carrot
1/2 c. small-dice celery
3 T. minced jalapeno peppers
2 t. minced ginger root
3 T. minced scallions
2 T. minced parsley
2 T. minced basil
1 T. minced thyme

1. Heat oil in saucepan over medium heat. Add shallot and garlic and saute until aromatic and tender, 2-3 min. Add broth, quinoa, bay leaf, thyme, and 1/4 t. salt. Stir well with fork. Bring broth to a simmer over medium heat.

2. Cover pot and simmer quinoa over low heat until tend and very fluffy, about 15 min.

3. Remove and discard bay leaf and thyme sprig. Fluff grains with fork to break up any clumps. Season to taste with salt and pepper and set aside.

4. Heat butter in pot over medium heat until it stops foaming. Add red and green peppers, carrot, celery, jalapeno, and ginger. Saute, stirring frequently, until peppers are tender, about 10 min.

5. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Fold in quinoa, scallions, parsley, basil, and thyme. Serve immediately.

I paired this with a chicken breast, seasoned with salt, pepper, and my favorite spice - cumin. It was delish! My friend really liked the quinoa! I was super nervous because a) it was a new recipe, and b) she had never had the main component of the dish! But it all worked out. I will definitely be making this again. I loved the taste of the ginger and the slight hint of heat from the jalapenos. Also, the flavor kind of reminded me of my mom's stuffing - probably because of the presence of thyme in the recipe. My mom makes the BEST stuffing. And gravy. And all things Thanksgiving!

Anways, back to the recipe. Like I said, this is a great one to make with the help of another person (see all the 'small-diced' veggies the recipe calls for!) Cooking a meal with someone else is one of my favorite things to do. Don't get me wrong - it is fun to eat out, but I actually prefer a meal made at home. In October I am doing a cooking boot camp with my talented Aunt Barb and I am so excited to learn from her! She is a fantastic cook and hopefully under her tutelage, I will not longer be so frightened by recipes! Who knows, maybe by the time 2010 rolls around, I'll be confident enough to roast a chicken!

Ok, after reading about two stellar ways to cook quinoa (this recipe and this recipe), does it make you want to give quinoa a shot? I really don't think you'll be disappointed!!