A nice new friend


Today I made a quinoa, broccoli and cheddar casserole and it was quite good. It was a little scary, cooking with a new grain, but I weathered the storm. First you preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Then you take 1 1/2 cups of quinoa, rinse it in a fine sieve (this gets rid of saponin, its natural bitter coating) and simmer it in 3 cups of water for 15 minutes, or until the water is absorbed. Chop an onion and saute it in 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet until the onion is translucent. Add 2 medium crowns of broccoli, broken up into bite-size pieces, and 1/4 cup of water. Cover the skillet and cook the broccoli for 5 to 7 minutes.

In a mixing bowl, combine the broccoli mixture, cooked quinoa and half a cup of sharp cheddar cheese. Put the mixture into a lightly oiled, 2-quart casserole. Sprinkle half a cup of sharp cheddar cheese evenly over the top. Cook 20 to 25 minutes and let stand 5 minutes. (Source: The Vegetarian 5-Ingredient Gourmet by Nava Atlas.)

Yum! Quinoa is high in protein, by the way.

Comments

Winston said…
It looks and sounds very good. Cheers!
1:39 PM
Lisa said…
That looks good. I see quinoa at the store but have never been brave enough to try.
2:31 PM
Caro said…
I'm glad you had a Merry Christmas.

I've never heard of quinoa, sad huh? Is it at the regular grocery store?
5:43 PM
Bearette said…
C - You're back! It's probably not at most grocery stores, but they have it at Whole Foods and places like that.

B - Welcome to the blog! :)
7:05 PM
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