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A little over 5 years ago, Heidi of 101 Cookbooks posted her recipe for Double Broccoli Quinoa; I’ve been making it ever since. The double broccoli refers to the crisp-tender florets that are tossed into the dish along with a creamy riff on traditional pesto that involves broccoli and almonds.
There are a number of things that I love about this dish: it’s delicious warm, cold or at room temperature; it works well with any cheese you have on hand, especially crumbly varieties like feta and goat; it’s quick – from start to finish, you’ll be sitting down to eat in less than half an hour. Interested?
There’s more. It’s also wonderful topped with pistachios or walnuts; sliced avocado and/or a fried or poached egg; sriracha or a squeeze of lemon. I think you’ll be impressed with its versatility. Give this a try, and I bet it will be you that’s still making it 5 years from now.
More Pesto Recipes
More Recipes with Quinoa
Quinoa with Broccoli Almond Pesto and Feta
Ingredients
- 1 cup quinoa
- 1 1/2 pounds broccoli cut into florets
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 cup toasted almonds divided
- 2 ounces freshly grated Parmesan
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- fine sea salt
- 4 ounces crumbled feta
Instructions
To cook the quinoa:
- In a fine-mesh strainer, carefully rinse one cup of quinoa. Add rinsed quinoa and 2 cups of water to a medium saucepan; stir and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer 12 minutes. Remove from heat and cover – let sit undisturbed for 15 minutes. Fluff with a fork.
- Meanwhile, in a large pot with a tight fitting lid bring 1 cup of water to boil. Add broccoli, spreading it out to cover the bottom of the pot, and cover. Cook for about 3 minutes, until broccoli is crisp-tender. Drain in a colander and set aside.
To make the broccoli pesto:
- With your food processor running, drop garlic clove down the chute. Scrape down sides and add about two cups of the cooked broccoli florets, 1/2 cup almonds, Parmesan and lemon juice. Process until smooth. In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil and sour cream. Pour over broccoli mixture and process until smooth. Season to taste with salt.
To assemble the dish:
- Add broccoli pesto, remaining broccoli florets and cooked quinoa to a large serving bowl; gently stir to combine. Top with remaining almonds and feta. Serve.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.