Description
Kale and Quinoa Pilaf is a delicious and nutritient packed powerhouse! The kale and quinoa are cooked together for a one-pot crunchy, nutty, lemony wonder. It’s great as a side dish or a healthy, good-for-you lunch. It’s really really good.
This recipe is based upon the recipe for One-Pot Kale & Quinoa Pilaf from Food 52.
Ingredients
- 2 cups salted water
- 1 cup quinoa
- 3 cups kale, washed & cut into 1-inch pieces stems removed
- 1 meyer lemon, zested and juiced
- 2 scallions, minced
- 1 tablespoon toasted walnut oil
- 1/4 cup toasted slivered almonds
- 1/2 cup plant based feta cheese
- salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- additional plant based feta, sliced green onion and toasted slivered almonds for garnish
Instructions
- Bring the water to a boil in a covered pot. Add the quinoa, cover, and lower the heat until it is just enough to maintain a simmer. Let simmer for 10 minutes, then top with the kale and re-cover. Simmer another 5 minutes, then turn off the heat and allow to steam for 5 more minutes.
- While the quinoa is cooking, take a large serving bowl and combine half of the lemon juice (reserving the other half), all of the lemon zest, scallions and walnut oil.
- Check the quinoa and kale when the cooking time has completed—the water should have absorbed, and the quinoa will be tender but firm, and the kale tender and bright green. If the quinoa still has a hard white center, you can steam a bit longer (adding more water if needed).
- When the quinoa and kale are done, fluff the pilaf, and tip it into the waiting bowl with the remaining ingredients. As the hot quinoa hits the scallions and lemon it should smell lovely. Toss to combine.
- Gently fold in the slivered almonds, feta and the remaining lemon juice, seasoning with salt and pepper.
- Serve warm or cold garnished with additional feta, green onion and slivered almonds if desired.
Notes
You can substitute pine nuts (original recipe) for the slivered almonds if you like.
Feel free to use another oil like extra virgin olive oil instead of walnut oil.
If you want to make this recipe dairy, use 1/4 cup of crumbled goad cheese.
To make this recipe Kosher for Passover, leave out the plant based feta or make it dairy using goat cheese. You can also make your own plant based feta. Here’s a recipe I found (but haven’t tried) https://cadryskitchen.com/vegan-feta-cheese.
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 254
- Sugar: 1.2 g
- Sodium: 620 mg
- Fat: 11.3 g
- Saturated Fat: 1.3 g
- Carbohydrates: 31.1 g
- Fiber: 4.4 g
- Protein: 8.8 g
- Cholesterol: 1.6 mg
