RECIPE: Healthy veggie-fried quinoa.

I am so into quinoa right now. Sure, I’ve enjoyed it for a while, but my feelings have developed. Right now quinoa and I are having a little bit of a love affair. Specifically, it’s this quinoa and bulgar wheat mix from Waitrose which is really doing things for me.

And my best quinoa concoction of late? This.

You know the delicious but awfully unhealthy veggie- or egg-fried rice you get from Chinese takeaways? Well this fabulous dish has got all those vibes going on but is ludicrously good for you. 

Aww man, it’s so super tasty! The coconut oil, garlic and tamari all marry together to make the most wonderful flavour combo, and then you’ve got your fluffy quinoa, crunchy cashews, plump sultanas and an array of textures thanks to the abundance of veggies. So colourful too!

It’s such a comforting dish yet without the stodge-factor – perf for supper on the sofa in your onesie. I laaaaave it!

Did I mention it’s also stupidly simple to make? Cos it is. One pan, people!

I'm in the habit of cooking a big batch of quinoa (I like to cook mine in stock with Marmite dissolved in for tastiness) and then using it over the week. Perhaps stuffed into baked peppers, served with a curry, or as part of a salad. Mmmmm...

Quinoa is packed with protein and is technically a pseudograin, if you were wondering. It's totally gluten-free and there's a reason everyone went nuts for it during 2014. It's awesome!

Oh, and tamari is a new discovery of mine. It's basically a gluten and yeast free alternative to soy sauce and is super tasty.

This serves two but it'd be super easy to increase the quantity. To be honest, quantities are pretty fluid anyway. Just improv with whatever you have and enjoy!


Ingredients

1 tbsp coconut oil (or sub cooking oil of your choice)
1 small onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, diced or mashed
1 red pepper, chopped into small pieces
1/2 courgette, chopped into small pieces
5(ish) broccoli florets, sliced into thin pieces
1 tbsp sweetcorn
1 tbsp sultanas
2 cups cooked quinoa/bulgar wheat (I cook mine in stock and Marmite!)
1 tbsp unsalted cashews
1 tbsp tamari (or sub soy sauce)


Method

1. Soak the sultanas in warm water. Melt the coconut oil in a large frying pan and chop up all your veggies.

2. Fry onion and garlic on a medium heat until softening. Turn the heat up and add the pepper, courgette and broccoli. Stir-fry for a few minutes, adding a splash of water here and there until everything is just about cooked enough.

3. Add the cashews, sweetcorn, sultanas and quinoa and turn the heat down. Add the tamari and stir it all around for a bit to make sure everything is evenly heated through. Serve right away or save for a lovely packed lunch.


Are you a quinoa fan?