veggie quinoa with blue cheese & dates

I’ve always had a love/hate relationship with quinoa. In some dishes it was great but then there were times when it seemed to have these bitter overtones.

So very uncool!

Well just this week I discovered you can *wash* your quinoa. Did you know this? How come nobody told me?

Turns out, in its original state, quinoa is coated by a naturally occurring chemical called saponin whose mission is to ward off insects. So unless it’s been processed (which they say also removes a tad of the nutritional value … of cooooourse!), the saponin is still there, creating a bitter taste.

Good news: It’s easy to fix. Just wash your quinoa first, running it under cold water in a fine mesh strainer for a few minutes, scrubbing it a bit as you go. This removes the saponin … Crisis averted!

No need to do this if your quinoa says “pre-washed” on the bag itself … which actually means it’s gone through an abrasion process to remove the saponin.

Now that that’s solved … let the yummy begin!

PS: I wanted seconds … and thirds … That’s how big the yum factor was here. Just sayin’. Even *DAD* loved it. (“Hey Mikey, he likes it!”)

. . . . . . . . .

Veggie Quinoa with Blue Cheese & Dates Recipe

• 1 cup tricolor quinoa
• 2 cups vegetable broth
• 1 + 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 tsp balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 tsp lemon juice
• salt, to taste
• 2 zucchini, chopped
• 2 yellow squash, chopped
• 3 or 4 pitted dates, chopped
• 1/4 cup blue cheese crumbles (for garnish)

Rub and rinse quinoa for a few min in large fine mesh strainer. Warm 1 tbsp olive oil in large, deep pan on high. Add quinoa and cook 1 min, stirring constantly. Add broth. When boiling begins, turn heat down to low and cover. Simmer til liquid is absorbed, about 15 min, then turn off heat and let sit covered for 5 min.

Whisk 3 tbsp olive oil with balsamic, lemon juice and salt. Coat veggies and grill in medium frying pan til tender. Toss with quinoa and dates in large bowl. Sprinkle with blue cheese crumbles and enjoy!

For extra credit: Serve with a side of pistachios, yum!