Thursday, January 23, 2014

Vegan Recipe - Quinoa Mushroom Pilaf (Gluten-Free)

I love the holidays and all the associated culinary indulgences. By January, though, I'm ready to get back to healthy, clean food.

While on hiatus, I cruised the vegan boards on Pinterest and found a ton of recipe inspiration. I also discovered some great blogs like the Gluten-Free Goddess. Karina, head chef and blog owner, creates amazing dishes. All of her recipes are gluten-free and quite a few are also vegan (check out her Vegan Recipes Page).

Karina graciously agreed to let me republish one of her recipes here. It is a beautiful, healthy and delicious dish.


Quinoa Mushroom Pilaf


Vegan, Gluten-Free Quinoa Mushroom Pilaf courtesy of Gluten-Free Goddess

You can use either broth or water to cook this quinoa recipe, but for a hearty, flavor-rich quinoa pilaf, use your favorite broth.

First:

Make your quinoa the easy way (how to here- using a rice cooker.)

You'll need roughly 2 1/2 - 3 cups cooked quinoa.

As the quinoa cooks, gather and cut up your vegetables.

Ingredients:

Olive oil
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 small to medium yellow bell pepper, diced fine
1 small to medium green bell pepper, diced fine
2 cups sliced mushrooms
Sea salt and ground pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley
1 teaspoon Greek Seasoning (mint, lemon, basil, oregano mix)
2 scallions (spring onions) sliced- white and light green sections
Squeeze of fresh lemon juice
Extra virgin olive oil, to taste

Option:

Toasted pine nuts, for serving

Instructions:

Rinse the quinoa thoroughly in a fine sieve. Drain. Place in rice cooker or pot with two cups fresh water. Cover and cook until all the water is absorbed.

When the quinoa is almost done, heat a splash of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic, yellow and green pepper; and stir over medium heat until slightly softened. Add in the mushrooms. Season with sea salt, and ground pepper, to taste. Add the Greek seasoning. Stir and cook until the mushrooms are tender.

Scoop the cooked quinoa out of the rice cooker and add it into the mushroom- pepper mixture. Add in the sliced scallions. Stir to combine. Squeeze fresh lemon juice all over the quinoa and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil. Toss to coat the quinoa.

Taste test and add more salt or seasoning if it needs it.

Sprinkle with toasted pine nuts, if desired.

Serve immediately; or allow it to cool, then cover and refrigerate it to eat as a salad.

Note on chilling this quinoa: Before serving this quinoa cold, taste test again and adjust seasonings; chilling often dulls the flavors in these kinds of salads. I usually allow quinoa salad a few minutes out of the fridge before serving; letting it to come to room temperature helps the flavors. If making ahead as a salad, I'd use water instead of broth- personal preference.

Cook time: 30 min

Yield: Serves 4


You can find the original recipe HERE. For more amazing recipes, visit Karina at the Gluten-Free Goddess.

If you have a vegan recipe which you'd like to share, please contact me HERE. And for all the recipes we've shared so far, be sure to visit our recipe page using the tabs at the top of this blog ... or by clicking HERE.


Sneak Peek: What is holistic living? How does it relate to green living? Find out in our next post.


Recipe and image courtesy of Gluten-Free Goddess


Also posted at Real Food Fridays