Quinoa with Caramelized Onions
Description
Another bit of healthy yum from Mark Bittman’s, How to Cook Everything Vegetarian. He recommends using it as a bed for grilled vegetables, so I tried it with roasted asparagus, and another lovely idea would be to swap out the onions and use leeks instead.
Ingredients
Quinoa with Caramelized Onions
3 or 4 good-sized onions (I used red), thinly sliced
3 T. olive oil
2 T. molasses (or brown sugar)
1 c. quinoa
2 c. chicken or vegetable broth (or water)
2 or 3 sprigs of fresh thyme
Instructions
Put all of the sliced onion in a large skillet with a lid and cook on medium heat, stirring occasionally, for about 15 minutes until the onions are dry and they start to stick to the skillet.
Add the oil and molasses and cook for another 10 to 15 minutes, until the onions are nicely brown (everything will look brown if you use molasses, basically you want them moist, but not too juicy). The onions can be made ahead to this point and then put in the fridge until you need them, just make sure they are warm before adding in the quinoa.
Add the quinoa and continue to stir everything over medium heat until the quinoa starts to pop and toast a bit, then add in the broth and bring it all to a boil. Drop in the thyme sprigs, reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for another 15 minutes or so with the lid on until the quinoa is tender. Check it occasionally and give it a stir, you want tender quinoa, but a fairly dry mixture overall – adjust liquid as needed.
Remove the thyme, check seasonings – you may want a bit of salt and pepper – and then serve. This works great at room temperature as well (I think it would travel well for a picnic!). Enjoy!
- Category: Quinoa, Salad
