This light, healthy dish is great paired with fish or chicken, but also complements a bowl of soup beautifully. Quinoa is a tasty change from the same old rice I’d usually make to accompany chicken dinners. The addition of the jalapeno, cilantro and lime juice brightens the flavor and adds a bit of sizzle.
Diff: Easy Prep: 5 min
Cook: 15 min Serves: 4
Ingredients
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1 cup quinoa
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2 cups spinach
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1/2 cup loosely packed fresh cilantro leaves
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Juice of one lime
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1/2 small jalapeno, seeded
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1 T extra-virgin olive oil
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1 clove garlic
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Kosher salt
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2 T Parmesan cheese
Directions
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Bring a medium saucepan filled two-thirds with water to a boil.
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Place quinoa in a fine mesh strainer and rinse several times.
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Add quinoa to saucepan, lower heat and simmer until the grains are tender and the germ (which looks like a white tail) just shows; about 12 minutes.
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Strain the quinoa and rinse under cold water. Drain, then set aside to dry out.
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While the quinoa is cooking, combine the spinach, cilantro, lime juice, jalapeno, oil and garlic in a food processor and pulse until finely chopped.
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Combine the dried quinoa, the spinach mixture, and 3/4 t. salt in the same saucepan the quinoa cooked in and set over medium-;low heat.
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Cook, stirring, until warmed through, about 3 minutes.
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Stir in 1T. of the Parmesan cheese. Transfer to a serving dish, and sprinkle the other 1 T. of cheese on top.
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Serve warm or at room temperature. Enjoy!
I’m adding some garlic salt instead of garlic cloves, hope it’s
fine, as I don’t wanna use garlic here directly…
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Thanks Ema for the comment! It really is a nice, light dish, and the garlic salt would enhance the flavor! Enjoy! Maria
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Quinoa treats are always healthy and lite. I would love to stir-fry this and use this as filling in my corn tortilla for a yummy brunch :P
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I never even thought of stir frying this! What a great idea! I’ll have to try this the next time I make quinoa. Thanks again for commenting! Have a great day~
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