Double Broccoli Quinoa

Confession: I am a recipe hoarder.

I have pages and pages of recipes torn from magazines and printed from the web. Recipes that I doubt I'll ever get around to making, but they just look so enticing that I am unable to recycle or delete them. So many, in fact, that I could probably make a new recipe twice a week for the rest of my life and never have to lift a food magazine again. But lift them I do. And subscribe to them, I feel I must. It borders on obsession.

Every now and then, I will actually make one of the recipes in the pile, and it lives up to my expectations so well that I wonder why on earth it took me so long to do it. This is one of those recipes.

If you don't know much about quinoa (pronounced KEEN-wah), you are missing out! I fell in love with quinoa the first time I used it in a recipe for tabouleh. It's nutty, it's easy and quicker to boil than rice, and the nutritional value is off the charts! I'll pause for a moment while you read this article as a primer. There! Notice the awesome recipe there too? Sigh. Another one for my pile o' paper.

I made this exactly as written, so I decided to simply paste the recipe in its entirety below. I topped the finished quinoa with a little avocado and found it was just about perfect. The punch of the lemon juice and garlic are offset deliciously by the smooth toasted almonds and the subtle richness of the cream.

If you have leftovers, you can freeze the quinoa and broccoli florets separately and they both reheat well.

Double Broccoli Quinoa - stolen from 101 Cookbooks
3 cups cooked quinoa*
5 cups raw broccoli, (about 3 large heads) cut into small florets and stems
3 medium garlic cloves
2/3 cup sliced or slivered almonds, toasted (I toasted them in a skillet)
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan
2 big pinches salt
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup heavy cream

Optional toppings: slivered basil, fire oil (optional)**, sliced avocado, crumbled feta or goat cheese

Heat the quinoa and set aside.

Now barely cook the broccoli by pouring 3/4 cup water into a large pot and bringing it to a simmer. Add a big pinch of salt and stir in the broccoli. Cover and cook for a minute, just long enough to take the raw edge off. Transfer the broccoli to a strainer and run under cold water until it stops cooking. Set aside.


To make the broccoli pesto, puree two cups of the cooked broccoli, the garlic, 1/2 cup of the almonds, Parmesan, salt, and lemon juice in a food processor. Drizzle in the olive oil and cream and pulse until smooth.


Just before serving, toss the quinoa and remaining broccoli florets with about 1/2 of the broccoli pesto. Taste and adjust if needed, you might want to add more of the pesto a bit at a time, or you might want a bit more salt or an added squeeze of lemon juice.

Turn out onto a serving platter and top with the remaining almonds, a drizzle of the chile oil, and some sliced avocado or any of the other optional toppings.

Serves 4 - 6.

*To cook quinoa: rinse one cup of quinoa in a fine-meshed strainer. In a medium saucepan heat the quinoa, two cups of water (or broth if you like), and a few big pinches of salt until boiling. Reduce heat and simmer until water is absorbed and quinoa fluffs up, about 15 minutes. Quinoa is done when you can see the curlique in each grain, and it is tender with a bit of pop to each bite. Drain any extra water and set aside.