On the menu today—Black-Bean and Tomato Quinoa

This morning I saw a tweet go by from Wil Wheaton (aka Wesley Crusher). He was commenting on a recipe that he had tried the night before. First thing I thought was hmmmm, maybe I can try that for dinner tonight, then my second thought was "hey...is he vegetarian?"



Sprouted Quinoa

 The main ingredient is quinoa. I've cooked with quinoa before but I had just purchased a bag of "sprouted quinoa" so this was the perfect opportunity to try it out.

I'm reproducing the recipe here (with a few modifications) from the Epicurious web site:







Black-Bean and Tomato Quinoa

• 1 teaspoon grated lime zest 
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled 
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 3/4 teaspoon agave syrup (can use 1 tsp of sugar)
• 2 cups of vegetable broth OR water
• 1 cup quinoa 
• 1 (14- to 15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained 
• 2 medium tomatoes, diced
• 4 green onions, chopped 
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro ( for those like me who hate cilantro, use fresh parsley or a small amount of basil)

Whisk together lime zest and juice, butter, oil, sugar, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a large bowl.

If you're not using sprouted quinoa, then you need to wash the quinoa in 3 changes of cold water in a bowl, draining in a sieve each time.

I cooked the quinoa directly in the vegetable broth, similar to cooking rice.The actual instructions require a bit more pampering: Cook quinoa in a medium pot of boiling salted water (1 tablespoon salt for 2 quarts water), uncovered, until almost tender, about 10 minutes. Drain in sieve, then set sieve in same pot with 1 inch of simmering water (water should not touch bottom of sieve). Cover quinoa with a folded kitchen towel, then cover sieve with a lid (don't worry if lid doesn't fit tightly) and steam over medium heat until tender, fluffy, and dry, about 10 minutes. Remove the pot from heat and remove lid. Let stand, still covered with towel, 5 minutes.

Add quinoa to dressing and toss until dressing is absorbed, then stir in remaining ingredients and salt and pepper to taste.

Makes 4 servings

Nutritional Information for 1 Serving (when made with water)

  379 Calories
  12g Fat
  15g Protein

  53g Carbohydrate

  11 g Dietary Fiber

  15mg Cholesterol

  439mg Sodium

I concur with WW it was amazing !! although mine turned out a bit mushy (probably because I didn't take the time to "pamper" the quinoa, like the recipe said to)!