Meatless Monday Mushroom Quinoa Risotto

Actually this particular "Meatless Monday" dish happened on Saturday, and tonight I have a vegetarian curry in mind - Cauliflower, Sweet Potatoes & Swiss Chard with some Jalfrezi paste.  But I'm getting ahead of myself... as usual.

Everybody seems to be getting on the "Meatless Monday" bandwagon.  And even we carnivores recognize the value in eating less meat.  But in our house it's a challenge.  I need to CHEW!!! and somehow vegetarian dishes don't usually do it for me.

Since I do love the "meatiness" of mushrooms and when I saw this recipe in my latest issue of  Food & Drink (one of my all time favorite food magazines, beautifully put together by LCBO (Ontario's Liquor Board) I knew I had to try it.  And after just a minimal tweaking,  here's my version...

Mushroom Quinoa Risotto

and it was fantastic!  BTW, my Honey loved it cold today for a packed lunch!  It was so good I had to share with Hey What's For Dinner, Mom? link up.   And perhaps, we'll have more than one meatless meal this week.

How often do you go meatless?

Simple Steamed Quinoa - the recipe

Simple Steamed Quinoa
Inspired by Shauna at Glutenfree Girl

UPDATED July 14, 2013
:
Prep time: 5 minutes
Total Cooking time: 20-25 minutes

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:2 cups/500ml chicken stock
3 cloves garlic, peeled and whacked to broaden the flavor surface
1 cup quinoa grains (I mixed red & regular this time, that’s why the photo looks more like kasha/buckwheat)
Directions:1. Rinse quinoa well under cold running water to remove the bitter coating.

2. Bring chicken stock/broth with garlic to a boil in a pot over medium high heat.

3. Add the quinoa, stir and let it return to a boil. Then reduce the heat to simmer and cover for 20 minutes or until the quinoa is soft but still a bit chewy.

4. Mash the garlic so it combines with the cooked quinoa. And you’re done.

Variations:You can add herbs (whatever you like), some salt & pepper to taste and serve it instead of potatoes or couscous.
It makes a great salad by adding some lemon juice, olive oil and your favorite chunky vegetables, chicken, roasted artichoke hearts, olives, tuna……the list is endless.


Related links: Food and Drink recipes