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Quinoa with courgettes and onions (or any veg really)
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Quinoa (pronounced KEEN-wah) is uber fashionable at the moment, and with good reason! A complete protein, gluten-free, easy to digest, high in vitamins and minerals - those Incas knew what they were on to 8,000 years ago. Match it with some veg for a healthy, yummy, energy giving meal! This recipe is taken from Hugh Fernley-Whittingstall of River Cottage in the UK. I love Hugh's recipes and particularly his cookbook River Cottage Veg Everyday which came about after he challenged himself to be vegetarian for a year! 
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You will need
(Before you read the list of ingredients below, I want you to know you can add or replace any veg - in the photo above I used some peppers along with the courgettes, and less onion. Don't let the lack of 'correct' ingredients stop you from trying!) 800g courgettes A knob of butter 2 tablespoons of olive oil 3 onions, halved and finely sliced A few sprigs of thyme, leaves only 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped 200g quinoa A good handful of flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped (I used curly parsley!) A squeeze of lemon juice 50g pine nuts, lightly toasted Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper Here's how Slice the courgettes on the diagonal into 5mm slices. Melt the butter with the oil in a large fry pan over a medium heat. Add the onions, courgettes (or other veg) thyme and some salt and pepper. Cook for 20-25 mins, stirring occasionally, until the courgettes are tender and starting to turn golden. Add the garlic and fry for another couple of minutes. Meanwhile, rinse the quinoa well in several changes of cold water. Put into a saucepan with a pinch of salt and cover with plenty of cold water. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer for about 12 mins, or until the quinoa is tender but still quite nutty, and the long white kernels are coming away from the seeds. (Don't worry if you don't get this right first time round, the more you cook it the more you will be able to tell when its ready). Tip into a sieve and leave to drain and steam a little to drive off excess moisture. Add the drained quinoa to the courgettes, along with the chopped parsley and lemon juice. Stir well, then taste and add more salt and pepper if needed. Serve topped with pine nuts (to toast pine nuts, put them into a dry fry pan over a medium heat and stir them for a few minutes until you start to see them turning golden). See that wasn't too hard now was it! Serves 4 - add some fish or meat to it if meat-free isn't your thing! Return to Recipes for Buffoons for more simple, tasty inspiration! |
