How to Make Healthy, Delicious Mediterranean Quinoa
Dairy-free, Egg-free, Gluten-free, Soy-free
Mediterranean Quinoa
Ingredients
Ingredients for Cooking the Quinoa
- 1 cup quinoa rinsed and drained
- 1 1/2 cups low sodium stock chicken or veggie
- 1/2 cup tomato juice reserved from a 14 oz can of diced tomatoes
- 1 clove garlic smashed and diced
- generous pinch sea salt
Ingredients for Assembling the Quinoa
- 1/2 cup green onions 3-4 or red onion
- 1 cup diced tomatoes reserved from the same 14 oz can of diced tomatoes above
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley chopped
- 1/2 cup fresh basil chopped
- 1/4 cup sliced olives
- One 15 oz can of no sodium garbanzo beans I like Eden organic
Dressing Ingredients
- 3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 6-8 TBS white balsamic dressing depending how zippy you like it
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1/4 cup fresh basil unchopped
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 1/8 tsp black pepper
Instructions
Ahead of Time
- Rinse the quinoa in a bowl or fine strainer until the water runs clear then drain.
- Open the can of tomatoes and separate the tomatoes from the juice, pouring the 1/2 cup of tomato juice into a 2 cup measurer. If there isn't a 1/2 cup of tomato juice in the can, just use more chicken stock to measure 2 cups of liquid.
- Peel, smash, and dice one clove garlic.
Cooking the Quinoa
- Bring stock and tomato juice to a boil.
- Once it boils add a generous pinch of sea salt to the liquid, add the quinoa and garlic clove, and reduce the heat to bring the quinoa to a simmer.
- Let it cook covered for 16-18 minutes on low to medium low heat until cooked.
- Then turn off heat. Let the quinoa sit for 5-10 minutes before fluffing it with a fork.
Prep the Rest
- While the quinoa is cooking cut the onion and fresh herbs.
- If you are using the beans, rinse and drain them well.
- Slice the olives.
Make the Dressing
- In a blender or food processor combine all ingredients except olive oil. Whiz until blended.
- With processor running, slowly pour in olive oil in a slow steady stream. Whiz until ingredients are blended and emulsified.
Finish the Quinoa
- After you have fluffed the quinoa and finished the dressing, add all of the ingredients you are putting into the quinoa except for the dressing and lightly mix.
- Add the dressing a TBS at time.
- Gently mix and taste to decide how much you dressing you like for flavor. I use about 2-3 TBS, but you may prefer less or more than that - it will depend how many of the ingredients you choose to use and the overall volume of the dish.
Never Made Quinoa Before?
No worries. Cook quinoa with me. Or Check out the perfect quinoa simmer.
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