Broccoli Pesto Quinoa - 101 Cookbooks
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Recipe from 101 Cookbooks
Ingredients
- 1 cup quinoa, rinsed
- 2 cups water
- 5 cups fresh broccoli, cut into small florets (about 2 good size broccoli crowns)
- 4 garlic cloves
- ⅔ cup freshly grated parmesan, divided
- ⅔ cup sliced or slivered almonds, toasted, divided
- ½ teaspoon salt
- Juice from one fresh lemon, about 2 tablespoons
- ¼ cup olive oil
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- Optional toppings: chopped basil, red chile oil (recipe below), sliced avocado
TIP: To make this dish vegan, substitute the heavy cream with coconut milk. For the parmesan, you can use Parma, or add about ¼ cup sesame seeds in place of the parmesan.
Instructions
1. In a medium saucepan, heat the quinoa with 2 cups water until boiling. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until all the water is absorbed and quinoa fluffs up, about 15 minutes. Set aside.
2. Heat a large pot of water to boiling and add the broccoli. Cook just until broccoli starts to soften and is bright green. About 90 seconds. Drain broccoli and rinse with cold water to stop broccoli from continuing to cook. Set aside.
3. To make the broccoli pesto: puree 2 cups of the blanced broccoli, garlic, ⅓ cup of the almonds, 1/3 cup of the parmesan, salt and lemon juice in a food processor. Drizzle in the olive oil and cream and pulse until nearly smooth.
4. Just before serving, toss the quinoa and remaining broccoli florets with the broccoli pesto. Taste and dd more lemon juice or salt if desired. Add the remaining ⅓ cup parmesan cheese.
5. Spoon mixture onto serving platter or plates. Add toppings. I recommend sliced avocado and liberal amounts of the red chile oil.
6. Red Chile Oil: Heat ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil in a small saucepan until heated, but not so hot that it smokes. Turn off the heat and stir in 1½ teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes. Set aside and let cool. This is good prepared the day before and kept in refrigerator overnight. Bring back to room temp
