Mediterranean Quinoa
Written by Rachel, Posted in Beans, Cheese, Dinner, Gluten Free, Grains, Main Dishes, One Dish Dinners, Quick and Easy, Quinoa, Vegetables, Vegetarian
This blogging adventure of mine is still a pretty new endeavor. It has needed plenty of encouragement, support, and love. When I first started (officially) blogging a little less than a year ago, I asked a few friends if they wanted to be ambassadors. Their job was/is to tell people about my blog and get them interested. In return I promised to create a dish for and named after them.
This past Wednesday, after a long and tiring day of editing, I was trying to come up with something for dinner. I finished work at 6, and was supposed to Skype with my family a few minutes later. I had something on the menu, but hadn’t done any work to prepare it (and might not have even had all the ingredients required). So I stood at the pantry cupboard and sought inspiration. I think some of the best meals come from staring at a bunch of ingredients sitting on a shelf. This was no exception.
The ingredients that sounded yummy to me reminded me of what one of my ambassadors had said she liked. The wheels started turning and I soon had the makings for “Mediterranean Quinoa for Stephanie”.
While I cooked, I had a small glass of wine. I was finishing up the dish and preparing to plate so I could take a few photos, so I poured a little more for the photo. Or so I thought. I realized that I’d picked up the olive oil, which was sitting right next to the bottle of wine, and poured it into my mostly empty wine glass. Whoops. Have I mentioned that I was really really tired!? Not one to waste food or wine, I poured the glass into the dish of rosemary infused olive oil and balsamic vinegar that we were going to dip our bread into. 🙂
A little bit about Stephanie Gladysz… She’s become a friend because I’m friends with her daughters Genevieve of Create Nourish Share, and Alexandra of Pink and Honey. She lives in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. It gets really really cold there in the winter. She and her husband own and operate Joey’s Restaurant in Regina, SK. They make really great fish and chips! She wrote a book called (Gasp) I have an idea! She’s really good at connecting people to my blog and often tells someone a specific post that reminded her of them. She’s a good encourager too. I’m thankful that she’s been willing to tell people about my work.
Thanks, Stephanie! Here’s the recipe that I created for you. I hope you enjoy it!!
Ingredients
- 1/2 t salt (or more)
- 1/2 to 1 t freshly ground black pepper
- 1 t fresh oregano, chopped
- 1/2 sweet paprika
- 2 C kale, stems removed, torn
- 1 tomato, chopped
- 1 C black beans, lentils, or garbonzo beans, cooked
- 1 1/2 C veggie stock
- 1 C water
- 1 C quinoa, uncooked
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 small red onion, diced
- 3 T olive oil
- 1 T lemon juice, for serving
- parmesan cheese, grated, for serving
- green or kalamata olives, chopped, for serving
Instructions
- In saucepan, heat 1 T olive oil; add onion, salt, pepper, and paprika. Cook 3 minutes.
- Add garlic, cook 1 minute.
- Add quinoa and oregano. Stir and cook 30 seconds - 1 minute.
- Add water and stock, bring to a boil. Add beans and simmer 10 minutes. Add tomato, 5 minutes more.
- Turn off heat. Stir in kale, oregano, and remaining 2 T olive oil.
- Serve topped with olives, a squeeze of lemon juice, and parmesan cheese.
