Quinoa “Stuffing” with Toasted Pine Nuts

Quinoa (keen-wa) is a delicious grain that’s packed with protein and nutrients. Unlike most other whole grains, it cooks in only 20 minutes and even the most novice cooks find it easy to prepare. This is always a winner at dinner parties and best of all, you don’t feel “stuffed” after eating it!

Salad

2 cups quinoa
4 cups water
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large yellow onion, sliced
2 small zucchini, cut into 1-inch cubes
½ cup pine nuts, toasted
¼ cup fresh parsley, chopped
1 teaspoon of orange zest
1 teaspoon sea salt

Dressing

4 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1/3 cup olive oil
4 tablespoons mirin (can be found at most health food stores - a great sweetener to have on hand)
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons garlic, finely minced
Juice of 1 lemon

Start with caramelizing onions by heating olive oil in large skillet. When oil is hot, add onions. Cook on low heat for at least 30 minutes (you can caramelize onions for up to an hour – just add a little water if they stick to the pan). Stir every few minutes. Add zucchini and cook for 10 more minutes or until tender.

While onions are cooking, rinse quinoa in a fine-meshed strainer over sink. Bring water and quinoa to a boil in a large saucepan. Turn down heat, cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until there is no water in the bottom of the pan. Do not stir. Simply slide a knife down the side of the pan and push quinoa aside to see if there is any water on the bottom of the pan. Quinoa is fully cooked when the germ has separated from the grain. It looks like a small white “C” shape surrounding each grain. When quinoa is done and there is no water on bottom of pan, pull off heat and let stand for 10 minutes.

Whisk dressing ingredients together. Toss quinoa well with dressing in serving bowl. Fold in onions, zucchini, nuts, parsley, zest and salt. Serve warm or room temperature.

SERVING IT FOR THE HOLIDAYS? A low-stress cooking plan:
-Toast nuts and prepare vinaigrette 3 days in advance.
-Sautée onions and zucchini 1 day in advance.
-Quinoa can be made one day in advance and stored in a sealed container.
-2 hours before serving, pull out of fridge, and combine all ingredients - if still too cool, warm in oven for 15 minutes.
-If you’re taking it to someone’s house, transport it ina large sealed container.

HIRE YOUR KIDS AS SOUS CHEFS – they can:
-Rinse the quinoa and rip parsley up into little pieces or cut with a plastic knife or butter knife.
-Chop the zucchini into cubes with butter knife and zest the orange.
-Squeeze the lemon juice, measure dressing ingredients and whisk it together.
Recipe by Julie Negrin and Jacquie Grinberg  © 2006
Preparation time: 45 minutes
Serves 6