Tonight I continued my quinoa cooking exploration and made another traditional rice dish except this time I used Quinoa. As is all too typical of me, I read about an ingredient, look at a couple of recipes, follow a recipe the first time and then I just start to make crap up on my own. Tonight I decided to see if quinoa could be cooked like a rice pilaf and just kind of improvised what I did. I made a few mental notes so I’d remember what I did in case it was good or so I’d know what to avoid if it wasn’t. This also gave me an opportunity to use a couple of the beautiful peppers that I have in my refrigerator. Fortunately, this came out even better than the risotto did and I’m happy to share the recipe here.
Quinoa Pilaf with Red and Yellow Peppers.
1 cup quinoa
2 bell peppers
2 cloves garlic
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 cups liquid (vegetable broth/stock or water)
cayenne pepper (to taste)
Directions
1. Soak the quinoa for 15 minutes
2. While quinoa is soaking, cut yellow and red peppers into confetti and mince garlic
3. Drain the quinoa and rinse thoroughly
4. Heat the olive oil in a medium sized pot
5. Add peppers and sauté until soft (about 8 minutes)
6. Add the garlic and sauté for one minute more
7. Add the quinoa and mix with the garlic and peppers. Stir constantly for about a minute.
8. Add cayenne pepper and the liquid to the quinoa mixture and stir frequently while the liquid comes to a boil.
9. Boil for one minute then reduce heat to low and cover with lid. Simmer for 20 minutes stirring occasionally.
10. After 20 minutes, remove from heat, stir and serve. Makes a great main dish or side dish.
Quinoa Pilaf with Red and Yellow peppers
