Quinoa Pilaf Recipes

VEGETABLE QUINOA PILAF

Steps:

• Pour oil into a medium saucepan, and place over medium heat. Add onion, celery, and carrots; cook and stir for 10 minutes, or until vegetables are tender.
• Using a strainer, rinse quinoa under cold water. Drain well. Stir into the vegetables; cook and stir for 1 minute. Add water, bay leaf and lemon rind and juice; bring to boil. Cover, and reduce heat to medium low. Simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, or until liquid is absorbed and quinoa is tender.
• Discard bay leaf. Stir in peas, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve.

QUINOA PILAF

Steps:

• In a small nonstick saucepan coated with cooking spray, cook onion and carrot in oil for 2-3 minutes or until crisp-tender. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Stir in the broth, water and salt; bring to a boil., Add quinoa. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 12-15 minutes or until liquid is absorbed. Remove from the heat. Fluff with a fork.

QUINOA PILAF

Steps:

• Cook's Note: To toast the almonds, arrange in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake in a preheated 350 degrees F oven until lightly toasted, 6 to 8 minutes. Cool completely before using.
• Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large saucepan or a high-sided skillet over medium-high heat. Add the shallots and cook until soft, about 2 minutes. Add the bell pepper, salt and pepper. Cook until the vegetables are tender, 5 minutes. Make a space in the center of the vegetables and add the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil. Add the quinoa and cook, stirring constantly, until coated with oil, about 2 minutes. Add the wine and cook until all of the liquid has evaporated, about 2 minutes. Add the broth and bring to a boil. Cover the pan and simmer until all of the broth has been absorbed and the quinoa is tender, about 15 minutes. Keep covered and let sit for 10 minutes. Add the arugula, almonds, mint, cucumber and lemon zest and toss well. Season with salt and pepper.

QUINOA PILAF

Steps:

• Rinse quinoa if instructed on box: Check your box of quinoa, if it recommends rinsing the quinoa, place the quinoa in a large sieve and rinse it until the water runs clear. (Some brands don't require rinsing.)
• Sauté onion, bell pepper, garlic, pine nuts: Heat 1 Tbsp of olive oil on medium high heat in a 1 1/2 to 2 quart pot. Add the onion, bell pepper, garlic and pine nuts and cook, stirring occasionally until the onions are translucent, but not browned.
• Add quinoa: Add the uncooked quinoa and cook, stirring occasionally for a couple more minutes. You can let some of the quinoa get a little toasted.
• Add water, salt, bring to simmer: Add 2 cups of water and one teaspoon of salt. Bring to a boil and reduce the heat to low so that the quinoa and water are simmering while the pot is partially covered (enough to let out some steam). Simmer for 20 minutes, or until the quinoa is tender and the water has been absorbed. Remove from heat and put into a large serving bowl. Fluff up with a fork.

QUINOA PILAF

Steps:

• In a medium saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the shallot, tomatoes, peppers and red pepper flakes and cook, stirring often, until slightly softened and aromatic, about 4 minutes. Season with the salt and add the quinoa. Using a wooden spoon, stir to coat the quinoa in the oil. Add the chicken broth, stir and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to low, cover the pan and cook until the quinoa is tender and the liquid is absorbed, about 20 minutes. Stir in the spinach to wilt and serve drizzled with olive oil.

QUINOA PILAF

Steps:

• Heat oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook onion in oil for 5 minutes, or until translucent. Add carrot, and cook 3 minutes more. Stir in quinoa and vegetable broth, and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, cover, and cook 15 to 20 minutes, or until quinoa is tender and fluffy.
• In a bowl, toss quinoa together with walnuts and parsley. Serve hot or at room temperature.

QUINOA AND LENTIL PILAF

Steps:

• Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil over medium-low heat in a large nonstick skillet and add onion. Cook, stirring, until tender and just beginning to color, 5 to 8 minutes. Add a generous pinch of salt and garlic and continue to cook, stirring, until garlic is fragrant, another 30 seconds to a minute. Add remaining oil and stir in quinoa and lentils. Add herbs and pepper, stir together, taste and adjust salt. Remove from heat and serve, adding a squeeze of lemon to each serving.

HERBED QUINOA PILAF

Steps:

• Place quinoa in large strainer. Rinse under cold running water until water is clear. Transfer quinoa to large saucepan; add 4 1/2 cups water and salt. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until water is absorbed and quinoa is tender, about 20 minutes. Transfer quinoa to large bowl; fluff with fork. Stir in oil and lemon juice. Cool to room temperature. Mix in pine nuts and red onion. Season with salt and pepper. (Can be prepared 6 hours ahead. Cover and chill.) Mix in basil.

JASMINE RICE & QUINOA PILAF

Steps:

• In a small saucepan, saute onion and carrot in oil until tender. Add rice and quinoa; stir to coat. Stir in broth and pepper., Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until liquid is absorbed, adding the broccoli during the last 3 minutes of cooking. Remove from the heat; let stand for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork.

QUINOA-AND-SPINACH PILAF

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, melt butter over medium. Add onion and garlic; cook until soft, about 4 minutes. Add quinoa and cook 1 minute. Add water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, until water is absorbed, about 20 minutes. Stir in spinach and lemon zest, then season with salt and pepper.

QUINOA PILAF

Steps:

• Toast rinsed quinoa in medium saucepan for 5 minutes.
• Remove from pan.
• Add oil, onion, mushrooms and garlic to pan and cook until onions are soft, about 4 minutes.
• Add boiling water, peas and toasted quinoa to pot.
• Cover pot and simmer 15 minutes.
• Stir before serving.
• Note: edited on 5/30/05 to include covering pot in step 5.

QUINOA PILAF

Steps:

• In a 12 inch fry pan over medium highheat cook bacon, stirring occasionally, until crisp around edges, around 8 minutes.
• With a slotted spoon lift bacon pieces from pan and set aside.
• Spoon off and discard all but 3 T.
• of the fat-or drain it all and use vegetable oil.
• Add mushrooms and onion to pan and cook, stirring occasionally, until liquid cooks away and mushrooms are golden.
• Add broth, quinoa, carrots, and green pepper; Bring to a boil over high heat.
• Cover and simmer until liquid is absorbed, about 15 minutes.
• Take off heat, remove lid and let stand 2 minutes.
• Stir with a fork to separate grains.
• Spoon onto serving dish and sprinkle with cooked bacon.

QUINOA PILAF

Steps:

• Heat the olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat, then add the shallot, fennel, carrot, and a pinch of salt and sauté for about 3 minutes, until the vegetables start to sweat. Stir in the quinoa, turmeric, cinnamon, cumin, ginger, and cardamom, then stir in the broth and 1/2 teaspoon of salt and bring to a boil. Lower the heat, cover, and simmer for about 20 minutes, until the liquid has been absorbed and the quinoa is tender.
• Remove from the heat and fluff with a fork, then add the parsley and fluff again. Do a FASS check and add a spritz of lemon juice to amp up the flavor if needed.
• rebecca's notes
• Rinse, rinse, and rinse again! Quinoa is naturally coated with a bitter-tasting resin. To get rid of the resin, put the grain in a bowl of cool water, swish it around with your hand, then drain it in a fine-mesh sieve.
• Quinoa is gluten free, which makes sense when you consider that botanically, it isn't a grain at all; it's more closely related to beets. It makes a great replacement for couscous in Orange Pistachio Couscous (page 145). It's also a great hot cereal; try it in place of oats in Best Oatmeal Ever (page 128).
• storage
• Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3 days.
• nutrition information
• (per serving)
• Calories: 270
• Total Fat: 9.9g (1.3g saturated, 5.7g monounsaturated)
• Carbohydrates: 39g
• Protein: 8g
• Fiber: 6g
• Sodium: 180mg
• WHO KNEW? Chemo and Carbs and Diabetes Risk
• By now, most of us know that chemo can cause muscle loss. But it can also lead to diabetes if you're not careful. Less muscle mass is a double whammy: You burn less sugar than with normal muscle levels, and you also store less sugar, in the form of glycogen, in those muscles, meaning all that unused consumed sugar stays in your body (usually in the liver, blood, and kidneys), elevating overall blood sugar levels and forcing you to use more insulin.
• Dr. Jeanne Wallace says that on top of that, "when you're given chemo, you're often given a steroid that really increases the glycemic response," creating the type of blood sugar spikes and insulin surges that can predispose people to diabetes. Wallace's suggestion? While you're in treatment, forget the USDA food pyramid. It suggests 6 to 11 servings of carbs per day. You want to eat fewer carbs, so shoot for half of that if not less. When you do eat carbs, avoid refined white flour and sugar and stick with whole grains, as their higher fiber content slows the release of their sugars into the body. This may have direct anticancer benefits too, as some studies have shown that lowering blood sugar levels in animals suppressed tumor growth.

QUINOA PILAF WITH SWEET PEAS AND GREEN GARLIC

Steps:

• Bring a medium pot of lightly salted water to a boil and add the peas. Turn the heat down to medium and simmer until tender, 4 to 10 minutes, depending on the size and freshness. Place a strainer over a bowl and drain the peas. Measure out 2 cups of the cooking water (add fresh water if necessary), return to the pot, add salt to taste, bring to a boil and add the quinoa. When the water comes back to a boil, cover, reduce the heat and simmer 15 minutes, or until the quinoa is tender and, in the case of white quinoa, displays a thread. Remove from the heat, drain through a strainer and return to the pot. Cover the pot with a clean dish towel and return the lid. Let sit 15 minutes.
• Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil over medium-low heat in a wide, heavy skillet and add the leek and sliced green garlic. Add a generous pinch of salt and cook, stirring, until tender, fragrant and translucent, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the quinoa and peas to the pan and toss together with the remaining olive oil for about 2 minutes, taking care not to mash the peas. Add the fresh herbs, grind in some pepper, taste and adjust seasoning, and serve.