Recipe of the Week: Double Broccoli Quinoa

When I started the Recipe of the Week on my blog, my running friend Maria immediately e-mailed me three of her favorite recipes. While they all looked yummy, I've had time to try one and I must say it was excellent!!

Now I understand that some of you may have never heard of quinoa, let alone cooked it yourself, but please don't be afraid of it! Quinoa is a whole grain that cooks up much like rice or couscous does. One of the reasons I love quinoa is that it also provides protein (14g of protein per 100g serving) and it has a balanced set of amino acids making it a complete protein source....perfect if you are a vegetarian.

We all know broccoli is good for you (that includes you Mr President George HW Bush). Broccoli is high in Vitamins C, K, and A as well as dietary fiber.....Vitamin C is very important this time of year with all the colds going around! It also contains multiple nutrients with anti-cancer properties.

As if this isn't enough good-for-you reasons to eat this dish, it also adds avocado and almonds for healthy fats to promote heart health and lower cholesterol!

Now I know what you are thinking....all this healthy food so does this really taste good? YES!!! I made this recipe pretty much exactly as written. One thing I added was some left over baked and shredded chicken breast to make it a complete meal. I wanted my dish to be hot so I made sure everything I added (broccoli florets, quinoa, and chicken) were still hot when mixed together. Also I didn't have time to make the chili oil so I left that out and I used regular almonds and didn't toast them. Here's the recipe (with my comments in parentheses)......ENJOY! You will practically feel yourself getting healthier while eating it :)

Double Broccoli Quinoa

3 cups cooked quinoa* 


5 cups raw broccoli, cut into small florets and stems

3 medium garlic cloves


2/3 cup sliced or slivered almonds, toasted 


1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan


2 big pinches salt


2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice


1/4 cup olive oil


1/4 cup heavy cream

Optional toppings: slivered basil, fire oil (optional)**, sliced avocado
crumbled feta or goat cheese

Heat the quinoa and set aside. (I kept my quinoa hot)

Now barely cook the broccoli by pouring 3/4 cup water into a large pot and bringing it to a simmer. Add a big pinch of salt and stir in the broccoli. Cover and cook for a minute, just long enough to take the raw edge off. Transfer the broccoli to a strainer and run under cold water until it stops cooking. Set aside. (I wanted my dish to be hot so I didn't run the broccoli under cold water. I took half for the pesto and put the other half back in the pot to stay warm)

To make the broccoli pesto puree two cups of the cooked broccoli, the garlic, 1/2 cup of the almonds, Parmesan, salt, and lemon juice in a food processor. Drizzle in the olive oil and cream and pulse until smooth.

Just before serving, toss the quinoa and remaining broccoli florets with about 1/2 of the broccoli pesto. (This is where I added the cooked and shredded chicken....you will need to add more of the pesto if you do this to make it moist enough). Taste and adjust if needed, you might want to add more of the pest a bit at a time, or you might want a bit more salt or an added squeeze of lemon juice. Turn out onto a serving platter and top with the remaining almonds, a drizzle of the chile oil, and some sliced avocado or any of the other optional toppings.

Serves 4 - 6. (I served this as a main dish so we got 3-4 servings out of it....you'd get more if it's a side dish)

*To cook quinoa: rinse one cup of quinoa in a fine-meshed strainer. In a medium saucepan heat the quinoa, two cups of water (or broth if you like), and a few big pinches of salt until boiling. Reduce heat and simmer until water is absorbed and quinoa fluffs up, about 15 minutes. Quinoa is done when you can see the curlique in each grain, and it is tender with a bit of pop to each bite. Drain any extra water and set aside.

**To make the red chile oil: You'll need 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil and 1 1/2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes. If you can, make the chile oil a day or so ahead of time by heating the olive oil in a small saucepan for a couple minutes - until it is about as hot as you would need it to saute some onions, but not so hot that it smokes or smells acrid or burned. Turn off the heat and stir in the crushed red pepper flakes. Set aside and let cool, then store in refrigerator. Bring to room temp again before using.