Quinoa with Dried Fruits & Nuts


This quinoa dish reminds me of Passover.

I make that delicious haroset for Passover seder every year, with grated apples, dried fruit and nuts.....a bit of cinnamon and wine.

As I was making this crunchy salad, I kept smelling Passover. I know, I am weird.

I found this recipe in the NY Times....they call it "rainbow quinoa".

I used every nut I had, including pecans and delicious energy mix from Wholesome Pantry Organic.

Using lots of fresh herbs are what make this a crunchy, bright, healthy breakfast quinoa.

I have decided I am not a fan of pomegranate molasses, which is used in a lot of Middle Eastern dishes.....it is just too bitter for me, so I decided date syrup is a better choice.

You can omit any nut or dried fruit you like.....but I say the more the merrier.



Quinoa w/ Dried Fruits & Nuts
(adapted from the NY Times):

2/3 cup chopped dried fruit (such as apricots, raisins, cranberries, dried figs, dates....I used them all)
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1/4 cup chopped fresh mint
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
se salt to taste
1 cup red quinoa or "rainbow quinoa" (mixed red/white), rinsed
1/4 cup lightly toasted pistachios
1/4 cup lightly toasted almonds, chopped
1/4 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
2 teaspoons lemon zest

Dressing:

2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
se salt to taste
1 small garlic clove, shaved on a microplane (optional)
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon pomegranate molasses (honey, maple syrup or date syrup is better in my opinion)
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

It's pretty simple.
Cook the quinoa as per directions (I do this the night before so I have it cooled and ready to go for recipes).

Chop the dried fruit and nuts to uniform size. Mix in with the cooled quinoa and lemon zest.

Whisk up dressing and toss with the quinoa. Taste for salt.

Add in the fresh herbs and serve.


Crunch.

Comments

Katie C. said…
Ok, how the heck are you supposed to purée one clove of garlic?!
Stacey Snacks said…
Katie C.

Easily.

You shave it on a microplane zester and it comes out pureed.

The NYT wrote "puree"....I just changed it to shaved on microplane....it comes out like a lump of puree. That is my trick so you never taste that piece of raw garlic.

You are a good enough cook, I think you can figure out their recipes!

S.
Mom said…
I buy the frozen pureed raw garlic cubes at Trader Joes. They come in a little tray and you punch out the garlic you need. Each cube is equal to one clove of garlic. They also have basil.
Katie C. said…
Well, I sure didn’t think of that! ;-)
Bebe said…
When you see a chef do it, they mince, mince, mince - then smear the minced garlic on their cutting board with their knife in almost a flat position. Sometimes multiple times.

(Confession: I have not tried this.)