Quinoa is a wonderful gift to vegans and vegetarians. It provides bountiful protein, calcium, iron, magnesium, and fiber in respectable quantities, with very little fat. This simple quinoa dish makes a nice presentation served at room temperature, especially for warm weather meals. Recipe adapted from Extraordinary Vegan* © 2013 by Alan Roettinger, reprinted with permission of Book Publishing Company. Photo by Andrew Schmidt.
Serves: 4
- 1/2 cup quinoa
- 1 cup water
- Pinch sea salt
- 1 natural salt-free vegetable bouillon cube, optional
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 small onion, diced
- 2 small zucchini, quartered lengthwise and thinly sliced
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- Freshly ground pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh basil
- Fresh tomato slices, as needed
Rinse the quinoa and put it in a small saucepan. Add the water, salt, and optional bouillon cube. Bring to a boil over high heat. Decrease the heat to low, cover, and cook for 15 minutes. Fluff the grains and set aside and let cool until needed.
Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat and add the onion. Stir until soft, about 3 minutes.
Add the zucchini. Continue stirring until the zucchini is just tender, another 4 to 5 minutes. Add the salt and pepper, and stir another 2 minutes.
Stir in the cooked quinoa and basil. Stir until warmed through. Serve with fresh tomato slices.
- Here are more quinoa recipes.
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12 Comments
Gigi
April 14, 2014 at 12:08 pmThat would’ve been Awsome with avocado
Nava
April 14, 2014 at 12:31 pmTrue, and what a good idea. Feel free to embellish!
Brent
April 15, 2014 at 9:44 amThis looks fabulous. I can’t wait to try it out. And like gigi said I think it will be better with avocado. Thanks for the recipe.
Suzanne
April 15, 2014 at 1:22 pmAm anxious to try this, it looks so yummy and beautiful. And I don’t eat avocados, so it is perfect for me just the way it is, almost…I don’t use added oils, so I’ll probably try sauteing my veggies without.
MarieRoxanne
April 15, 2014 at 2:28 pmThis would be a great as an appetizer for a wedding or special event or dinner!
April Brand
April 18, 2014 at 2:21 pmThat was delicious. And I added avocado. Very delicious!
Danielle Rigney
April 22, 2014 at 1:50 pmTry it with a drizzle of balsamic vinegar!
Nava
April 22, 2014 at 1:51 pmGreat idea!
sherri
April 25, 2014 at 7:33 amSure hope my quinoa ‘patty’ holds together like the pic.
Love the Balsamic Vinegar and avocado suggestions…
Christina
May 10, 2014 at 11:43 amThat sounds delish! I might add some garlic!
Suzanne, you should try a little of olive oil in your life! It keeps things from sticking to the pan and it is heart healthy! =)
Ann Silverthorn
May 9, 2015 at 8:29 amDoes anyone know how to form the quinoa/zucchini like it shows in the picture. Would be very impressive when entertaining.
Kathy
May 9, 2015 at 10:27 amYou can shape the quinoa with a small circular mold, called a forming ring (I watch a lot of Master Chef!). After a quick search, I found some alternatives: a tin can opened at both ends, pipe, egg poaching ring, small springform rings.