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Quinoa Pilaf
Quinoa may be hard to pronounce (keen-wah) but it’s definitely easier to cook than you’d think! This rice and pasta free pilaf is not only a food, whole grain carb, but also gluten free! With quinoa being higher in fiber and tremendously higher in protein than rice, this pilaf is as nutritious as it is delicious.
Ingredients
- 1 cup dry quinoa
- 2 tablespoons trans-fat free margarine
- ½ cup chopped celery
- ¼ cup minced yellow onion
- 2 cups chicken broth
- ½ teaspoon poultry seasoning
- 1 tablespoon chopped parsley (or 2 teaspoons parsley flakes)
Directions
- Thoroughly rinse quinoa in a fine mesh strainer or by hand in a large bowl of water.
- Add 1 tablespoon of the margarine to a medium sized pot on the stove over medium-high heat and cook until melted. Add celery and onion to pot and sauté 3 minutes or until celery begins to turn translucent, then transfer to a small bowl and set aside.
- Place pot back onto the heat and add the remaining tablespoon of margarine and rinsed quinoa. Cook quinoa and margarine, stirring constantly, 2 minutes before pouring in the chicken broth and poultry seasoning.
- Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low, cover pot and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Stir in the cooked celery and onion mixture, and parsley. Recover pot and cook an additional 5 minutes before fluffing with a spoon, and serving hot.
Tips: Quinoa is so small that it can be tremendously difficult to rinse. I’ve found that the best way to do this is to swirl it around in a large bowl of water with your hands. Getting it out of the bowl can be tricky, but scooping it out against the wall of the bowl is easiest.
Variations: I like to add a handful of chopped pistachios to my pilaf just before serving. Slivered almonds go great as well!
