Quinoa and Broccoli. Ugh. Health Food? Try Delicious.

Quinoa.

More and more people are picking up on this wonder grain. It's native to the Andean regions of South America (Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia) but its deliciousness is being discovered in the United States.

Now, I need to get a confession out of the way here. I hate couscous. Hate it. I've tried so hard, but it always seems to produce a metallic taste in whatever it is that I'm cooking. Quinoa, this magical little grain, is not only an easy substitute for couscous, but is much more nutritious. It's a complete protein--unusual for almost any singular food. Most items need to be combined, such as tortillas and beans. Quinoa does the job itself. And 3.5 ounces (uncooked) of the stuff gives 4.6mg of iron, more than spinach. Important for near-anemic endometrioics (did I make up that word? I think I did) such as myself.

Considering the fact that the Inca have been cultivating quinoa for thousands of years, I've been wanting to bring this traditional grain into my diet. But seeing as I'm not that adventurous of a cook--strange, I know, for someone who writes a food blog--I've been waiting for the right recipe to come along.

This week it did, in the form of Double Broccoli Quinoa over at 101 Cookbooks. A pesto made of broccoli! With broccoli chunks! While I know pesto is just green + nut + cheese, I never would've thought of this. So I took it. My version has barely been tweaked:

1 cup quinoa
Four cups broccoli (excluding tough stems)
Teaspoon of minced garlic (I'm lazy, you can feel free to be better and use cloves)
2/3 cup roughly chopped walnuts
1/3 cup fresh grated Parmesan
A few twists of sea salt
2 tbsp lemon juice
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup whole milk

Cook the quinoa as you would rice, with 1 cup requiring 2 cups water. Bring to a boil, add a few pinches of salt, and let simmer on low for about 15 minutes.

Dice the broccoli and blanch by throwing into a pot of boiling water for just one minute, then straining immediately and running cold water over the drained florets.

Combine two cups of broccoli, 1/2 the walnuts, the cheese, salt, lemon, oil, and milk in a blender. Blend til smooth.

Empty the quinoa into a medium bowl and add the remaining broccoli. Pour in about half the broccoli pesto and stir it up.

Top with remaining walnuts . Feel free to add chevre (mmmm) or feta. Chili oil provides good heat, as does my favorite condiment, Crystal Hot Sauce. Or eat as is.

Double Broccoli Quinoa is a lovely accompaniment to pan seared halibut. Especially when you buy it fresh from the market. Just sayin'