Double Broccoli Quinoa

Two words for you:
Delicious & nutritious.

My first time to experiment with this little seed-like grain was with my first entry, the Halibut en Papillote recipe. I used it as a simple bed for the entree and I liked it. Tonight, I dressed it up and made it the belle of the ball with this little recipe sent to me by my nutritionist from the 101 Cookbooks blog, and I really, really liked it. My meat and potatoes man gave it his seal of approval as well. We have a winner!

Grocery List:
1 cup of quinoa
5 cups raw broccoli, cut into small florets and stems
3 medium garlic cloves
2/3 cup sliced or slivered almonds, toasted
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 (I used Half and Half to cut back on calories)
Sliced Avocado
Crumbled feta

Additional Needs:
Knife, cutting board
Small sauce pan
Large boiling pot
Colander
Food processor (must have)
Large mixing bowl



First thing is first, take your quinoa and set it in a small sauce pan. Use 2 cups of water for every 1 cup of quinoa used. Cook the quinoa like you would rice, bringing to a boil, then turn heat to low, let simmer and cover.



While your quinoa is cooking, begin slicing up your raw broccoli into small florets, just starting at the bottom and moving up to each "branch". Fill the 5 cups worth and pour them into the pot, fill with about 3/4 cup of water and barely steam the broccoli through. Once they are tender, drain in a colander and set aside.








Next, you will take 2 cups worth of your cooked broccoli and put into your food processor. My little super chopper is what you might call, small, so I processed the broccoli 1 cup at a time. After your broccoli is chopped, add the garlic, slivered almonds, parmesan and lemon juice, then process all together.









Finally, add the olive oil and the half and half, then process. Now you have your broccoli pesto!
You know your quinoa is done when it looks fluffed in the pot and once you see the curlicue in each grain. Take your finished quinoa and scoop it into a mixing bowl, then add at least 1/2 of the pesto to start with and stir together.







Next, add the remaining broccoli to the quinoa. At this time, I decided to add some of my leftover homemade teriyaki sauce from my salmon for additional flavor and that was a fabulous addition! Mix this all together, adding more pesto if needed. Last you can garnish with more almonds, feta cheese and/or avocado. I mixed the feta cheese in, then added slices of avocado to the finished product on the plate!








Ta-da! Truly a treat :-)