Remember my sister-Asheville-restaurant binge last week? Well.
We had dinner at a place called Posana Cafe. It’s a farm-to-table posh kinda spot, so of course we ordered some things and then we all shared. My braised beef bourginon plate came with Brussels sprouts. One of my sisters ordered a warm quinoa salad that was full of pecans and cranberries, so of course some a that landed in the mish mash of food I taste tested my way through.
The warm quinoa salad invoked unanimous raves all around– especially mine that got all mixed up with the Brussels sprouts. I came home with the resolve to re-create the whole deal and then a funny thing happened a couple of days later.
Deanna at SOLE Food Kitchen posted almost exactly the warm quinoa salad that I had on my mind. Except she used barley with her Brussels sprouts. Oh and lemon! Hers looks goooood.
This is my super quick and simple version of the inspiration I carried home from my mini-vacation dinner plate.
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ cup red onion, chopped
- 12 ounces Brussels sprouts, trimmed and quartered
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt, more to taste
- 2 cups water
- 1 cup dry quinoa
- ½ cup chopped pecans
- ⅓ cup dried cranberries
- ¼ cup Gorgonzola cheese, crumbled, more to garnish
- Heat the olive oil in a medium skillet.
- Add the onion and cook until soft, about 3 minutes,
- Add the Brussels sprouts and salt. Set the heat to medium and stir.
- Meanwhile, bring the water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add the quinoa, reduce the heat to simmer, and cover. Cook for about 15 minutes, until all the liquid is soaked and you can fluff the quinoa with a fork.
- Toss the pecans and cranberries into the Brussels sprouts, stir, and cook until the sprouts are tender, the cranberries soften a little, and the nuts get a bit toasty.
- Remove from the heat and toss the Brussels sprout mixture with the quinoa. Add the cheese, stir, and then finish with a little sprinkle more of cheese.
- Serve warm.
What’s your favorite way to prepare quinoa?
Achaia
Wednesday 8th of January 2014
I really want to try this dish with my family we more variety but I have not never used the quinoa and where would I look for it in the store . PLEASE CAN SOME ONE HELP :)
Heather
Wednesday 8th of January 2014
So glad you want to try this! Where you find quinoa may depend on your store. Sometimes I find it with the grains - like rice and couscous. Sometimes it is in the International aisle. But I almost always find it on a high/top shelf so look up! Also, if you have a Big Lots where you live I find quinoa there pretty often and it's marked way down!! Hope this helps! Let me know how it goes! Happy cooking!
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