In celebration of my first garden harvest I quickly cobbled together this recipe. It was a delicious creation that let my crisp, fresh kale shine.
Cheesy Quinoa & Kale
Ingredients
- 1 cup uncooked quinoa
- 3-4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- Half an onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, sliced
- 2 cups broth
- 1 large bunch of kale, de-stemmed and chopped
- 1 tablespoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 1/2 cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese
- Salt & pepper to taste
Directions
- In a large saute pan over medium heat toast the uncooked quinoa. Let it go until it smells toasty and darkens slightly in color.
- Put the toasted quinoa in a bowl and set aside.
- Place the saute pan back on the heat. Add in the olive oil.
- Throw in the diced onion and sliced garlic. Saute until the onion becomes translucent.
- Add in the toasted quinoa as well as the broth.
- Stir occasionally to make sure nothing is sticking and that all the liquid is absorbing.
- When nearly all the liquid is absorbed, add the chopped kale. Season with red pepper flakes as well as salt & pepper to taste.
- Put a lid on the pan and let it all cook down.
- After about 8 minutes check the pan. All the liquid should be absorbed and the quinoa should be al dente (tender but firm) and the kale should be tender. If things don’t look cooked enough, go ahead and let it cook for a bit longer. Just add a few tablespoons of water to the pan so nothing sticks or burns.
- When the quinoa and kale is ready, remove the pan from the heat, stir in the cheese and serve it up.
Yes, this recipe would taste great with kale from the farmer’s market. But it was incredibly rewarding and that much more delicious knowing the kale came from my garden.
What have you been creating with ingredients fresh from your garden?
This is cross-posted as part of Food Renegade’s Fight Back Friday.
Congrats on your harvest! I love quinoa and I'm always looking for new recipes. Hope your garden continues to be bountiful!
Saw you at Food Renegade.
Thanks Kathy! I'm new to the whole gardening thing so it's all very exciting to see what happens.