Cajun Quinoa Pilaf

I had never eaten quinoa until I was an adult. I had never even heard of it before, honestly, until I began one (of many) weight loss journey and needed alternative “carbs” to eat. Since then, it has become one of my favorite side dishes to eat. My daughter absolutely loves quinoa, so it can always be found in my pantry. I usually keep it simple, by just cooking the quinoa in chicken stock, but I tried a more adventurous recipe.

The mild taste of quinoa makes it incredibly easy to adapt to whatever you want it to be. The addition of the vegetables to the quinoa makes this dish a bit more filling than it usually is. The use of the Trinity (bell pepper, onion, celery) gives the quinoa a more mature taste, with the lemon brightening it. The Cajun seasoning provides a welcome spice to this dish. I recommend serving this quinoa with a nice roasted protein, or in a salad with refreshing fruits/veggies.

Yield: 6 servings

Prep time: 5 minutes

Total time: 35 minutes

Ingredients

1 cup dry quinoa
2 cups chicken stock
¼ green bell pepper, diced
¼ red bell pepper, diced
1 stalk celery, diced
½ shallot (or onion), diced
4 cloves garlic, diced
Zest of ½ lemon
2 tsp Cajun seasoning
1 tbsp oil or butter
2 tbsp chopped parsley (optional)

Directions

1. In a medium saucepan, add quinoa, chicken stock, and salt to taste (underseason the quinoa, you will be seasoning more later). Bring to boil.
2. Cover pot and reduce heat to medium-low. Cook for about 25 minutes, or until all water has cooked off quinoa. 
3. In a large sauté pan, melt butter (or heat oil) over medium-high heat. Add veggies (except lemon zest and parsley, if using) and 1 tsp Cajun seasoning. Sauté until veggies are softened. 
4. Add quinoa and remaining tsp of Cajun seasoning. Combine and let cook together for 3-5 minutes.
5. Stir in parsley and lemon zest and remove from heat.
6. Serve immediately.

Recipe Tips

• It’s important to be very careful when seasoning for this dish. The Cajun seasoning of course provides seasoning to the dish, but quinoa does not taste well if you do not use salt while cooking. I recommend adding very little salt while the quinoa is cooking, then adjust the amount of Cajun seasoning you use, if necessary.
• Substitute vegetable stock to make this dish vegan.