Tasty Lentils and Quinoa - a one dish meal

I could go on about the nutritional benefits of Lentils (26% protein) and Quinoa (one of the most balanced sets of essential amino acids in a vegetable, and still 12%-18% protein). I think it's more important, though , that this is tasty enough to become one of our family favourites!

Step 1: Ingredients

In spite of its nutritional value, quinoa is not always easy to find. We usually get ours at Scoop-and-Weigh, the local bulk seller. If they have different kinds of quinoa, we usually get the red stuff, just ebcause it adds a bit more colour - they taste pretty similar to me.

Your bulk seller usually also has a better deal on spices than your supermarket, but all other ingredients should be available at your supermarket.

Ingredients
1 tbsp olive oil
2 onions, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1.5 tsp grounc cumin
1 tsp curry paste
0.5 tsp each cinnamon and salt
4 carrots, sliced
1 cup quinoa (pronounced kee nwa) or rice
2 cups vegetable stock
1 can (19 oz) lentils, drained and rinsed
1 apple, unpeeled and diced
4 green onions, sliced
0.5 cup plain yogurt

Comments

[teeval]

Hiya! I always bulk cook pulses in my pressure cooker then freeze them. You can then just add what you need when you need it. Much quicker and cheaper then buying cans I found. Sounds like a really yum recipe and I think I'm just going to have to try it. BTW, I think the red quinoa tastes nicer, and it holds its shape better when its cooks. Whenever I cook the white one it goes mushy, but that could just be me overcooking it :oD

[stokeymike]

It's always best to give quinoa a good wash before use as the grains have a soapy coting that can spoil the taste.

[rbutler7]

In America, quinoa is usually pre-rinsed to remove the saponin before it is packaged. I still prefer to rinse it first, just to be sure.

[berserk]

Hm. We have never had that problem. I wonder if it's a regional thing. Where are you from?

[Scurvymcdiggle]

i understand getting some kinds of beans canned because they take forever to cook...but lentils take no time...seems odd.

[Greenhousegirl]

you don't happen to have any more nice quinoa recipes? they are so hard to come by......

[berserk]

We have used quinoa in place of rice, cooking it the same way as long grain rice. Usually takes 40-45 minutes, and the ratio is 7 water to 4 quinoa. Times and ratios are a bit of a guess, as I am not the cook, and the cook seems to wing it a little. :-) The original recipe for this dish was actually "Lentils and Rice".

[Greenhousegirl]

thats really good to know....

i'm not a "wing it!" person... i like to follow a recipe to a T.
But i am open to improvising and such, i just tend to like recipes....

[Patrik]

Not sure I've ever seen canned lentils. You could, of course, buy them at the same bulk seller as where you buy the quinoa. Unlike most other beans, they don't need pre-soaking, and cook in about 1/2 an hour or so - if you put them in a bit before the quinoa, you should be fine...

[incorrigible packrat]

Really? We get canned lentils all the time. They make a dandy filling for tacos.

[Momastray]

Looks very good. If I can find the ingredients I will try it for sure. Thanks!