discovering quinoa and broccolini

Since entering the blogosphere, I have not only discovered an array of delicious food blogs (which I spend way too much time looking at) but I have also been introduced to new ingredients.

Heidi's recipes at 101 Cookbooks display the variety of whole foods that are out there, and make them seem less scary to novices like me. One such ingredient she introduced me to was quinoa (said "keen wa"). After reading her descriptions of quinoa, I knew I had try out this superfood for myself. You can find it in the bulk bins in the supermarket now, and its roughly the same price you would pay for rice. My husband even loved it - he doesn't cope with new things that well, so I always take a big risk trying out new healthy foods!


I was also a broccolini virgin when I made this recipe. I found some at our local farmers market and decided to give it a go. The whole food can be used, with the stems taking on a delicious nutty flavour after roasting or frying. I'm trying to be a locavore - buying and eating food that is local and seasonal, and locally grown broccolini definitely fits in to that category. If you can use tomatoes from your own garden for this recipe, and make your own pesto - even better!

Italian Inspired Quinoa
You can easily adapt this recipe to be vegetarian by omitting the chicken and adding in extra veges. For a dairy free version, leave out the feta cheese and use dairy free pesto or something like basil oil. You really can adapt it to whatever ingredients you have lying around.
Serves 4-6

1 tablespoon olive oil
a pinch of salt
1/2 brown onion, finely diced
2 cups quinoa, rinsed through a strainer*
2 chicken thighs, diced
1 bunch of broccolini, cut into chunky pieces
feta cheese, cubed (use as much as preferred, I used about 1/3 cup)
1/3 cup pesto
6 to 8 roasted tomatoes** (or store-bought sundried tomatoes)

1. To cook quinoa, place in a saucepan with 4 cups of water and a teaspoon of salt. Bring to the boil, then reduce heat and simmer until the liquid is absorbed and quinoa is fluffy. This should take about 15 to 20 minutes. Drain any extra liquid and set aside.

2. In a medium saucepan, bring 2 inches of water to the boil with a pinch of salt. Add broccolini and cook for around 5 minutes until bright green and just tender. Drain and set aside.

3. Heat oil and in a large pan and add the onion, cooking for a few minutes until softened. Add the diced chicken and cook, turning occasionally until browned and cooked through completely.

4. Stir in the quinoa and cook until hot and starting to fry. Add broccolini and feta cheese and heated through.

5. Remove from heat and evenly stir through the pesto. Serve in a large bowl topped with the roasted tomatoes.


*Rinsing quinoa is important because it has a bitter coating that needs to be removed.

**To roast tomatoes, heat oven to 180C, halve tomatoes and place on a baking dish. Mix together a glug of olive oil, a spoonful of brown sugar and a couple of pinches of salt. Pour this over the tomatoes and toss to evenly coat them. Ensure they end up with the cut side facing up. Roast in the oven for 45 minutes to an hour, until they are shrunken and caramelised.

Recipe adapted from "Heather's Quinoa" at 101 Cookbooks.