I could eat quinoa every day. Seriously.
Ever since I discovered quinoa when I was in college, I’ve been unable to get enough of it. This fact makes it shocking to me that I don’t have more recipes that use quinoa on this blog. Maybe it's because I gobble it down before it can be photographed, I’m not sure, but this post is here to fill the gap with the tastiest quinoa you’ve ever had, hands down.
I first saw this recipe ages ago and have been wanting to make it ever since. Then, as luck would have it, I found a little bag of quinoa at the grocery store in Vicenza. Determined to use it well, I decided to finally make this recipe and see how it turned out. It was a bit of work to put together, and made for a late dinner but it was well worth it. I found it, if I do say so myself, ridiculously good and I got rave reviews from both Giacomo and Peçanha, neither of whom had ever tried quinoa before.
Additionally, I was able to substitute a few ingredients for others in order not to have to purchase a million things for this. Instead of using gruyere I used some slices of swiss-type cheese we had on hand, cutting them into tiny pieces to get ¾ of a cup. I think you could try using many other cheeses (maybe not cheddar) and still get delicious results. Second, I used regular spinach, which despite being much bigger and thicker than baby spinach, made no difference at all because you cook it, chop it up, and then add it to the quinoa mixture before final baking.
So now, whether you like quinoa or not, you should make this recipe. Besides (shhh don’t tell!) it’s healthy!
Quinoa Casserole (lightly adapted from The New York Times)
Ingredients:
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 6-ounce bag baby spinach (or regular spinach)
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 plump garlic clove, minced
2 large eggs
3 ounces (3/4 cup) Gruyère cheese, grated (or some other type of cheese you have on hand)
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh sage
1 ounce (1/4 cup) Parmesan, grated
Directions:
1) Bring quinoa, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1 1/4 cups water to a boil in a medium saucepan over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until quinoa is tender, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand, covered, for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork. 2) Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Oil a 2-quart gratin or baking dish.
3) Heat a large frying pan or a wide saucepan over medium-high heat. Wash the spinach and without drying, add it to the pan and wilt in the liquid left on the leaves after washing. As soon as the spinach wilts, remove from the heat and rinse with cold water. Squeeze dry and chop. Set aside.
4) Wipe the pan dry and heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in it over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring often, until very tender, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and stir with the onion until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in the spinach and season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat.
5) Beat the eggs in a large bowl and add 1/2 teaspoon salt. Stir in the quinoa, the onion and spinach mixture, the Gruyère, and the sage. Add freshly ground pepper and stir the mixture together. Scrape into the gratin dish. Sprinkle the Parmesan over the top and drizzle on the remaining tablespoon of olive oil.
6) Place in the oven and bake until nicely browned on top, about 25 minutes. Remove from oven, allow to sit for about 5 minutes, and serve.
Notes: You can cook the quinoa ahead of time and store it for up to four days in the refrigerator. The recipe can be made through Step 3 several hours or even a day ahead.
