Saturday, January 19, 2008

Quinoa and Black Beans



I got this recipe from the Seattle PI but they've since removed it from their website. Shame, as I think I linked to it last time. Oh well, I found that someone posted it on allrecipes.com so here it is:

Quinoa and Black Beans
Prep Time: 15 Minutes
Cook Time: 35 Minutes

INGREDIENTS:
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
3/4 cup uncooked quinoa
1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup frozen corn kernels
1 (15 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

DIRECTIONS:
1. Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the onion and garlic, and saute until lightly browned.
2. Mix quinoa into the saucepan and cover with vegetable broth. Season with cumin, cayenne pepper, salt, and pepper. Bring the mixture to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes,
3. Stir frozen corn into the saucepan, and continue to simmer about 5 minutes until heated through. Mix in the black beans and cilantro.


I used one can of chicken broth and it was the perfect amount. I remember the last time I made this the amount of vegetable broth it called for was not enough. Quinoa can be purchased at Trader Joe's or perhaps in the health/natural food section of the grocery store. Since it is gluten free it should be fairly easy to find these days. This was tasty as a main dish but my husband noted that it'd be really good with a piece of white fish that had been steamed in a packet. I have to say I'd agree!

3 comments:

Octavia Violet said...

OK - Where's the PASTA ??? LOL ! And what was wrong with that chicken/broccoli/garlic thing? Those are all things I love! BTW - I like the 'purple checks' bowl, but I hate beans!

PS - You know you SHOULD treat yourself to a little SWEENEY ! Popcorn for dinner just ONE night won't hurt !

Mary said...

Quinoa is a South American plant. It's pretty yummy, actually, and has a texture similar to couscous. We've been having a lot of beans lately which I love for the fiber.

I have no idea what went wrong with the chicken. I got the recipe off the Hillbilly Housewife website and definitely need to revamp it. I think part of the problem was the recipe said to put the broccoli in the pan and let it cook with the chicken and rice for 25 minutes. That is definitely too long because it got all mushy and gross. The rice was too glutinous also. Oh, AND the chicken developed this weird skin/hardness to it from being cooked in the pan first. I don't know. I may try it again my way but not for a while.

cmariewt said...

Well Mrs Mary. I made my own version of this quinoa tonight and it was delish! I applaud you.