Hello Alle Zusammen (all of you)!
Today’s invention is a really neat little trick, really! It’s a quick and dirty way of making quinoa risotto. Why quinoa? Well, to switch things up a little, of course! Quinoa also has an inherently nutty flavour, which can be interesting to those precious, little gluten-free tastebuds of yours!
The secret? Lentils. Cook the quinoa together with the lentils. They will essentially melt into your quinoa, giving your quinoa a thick and soupy texture.
Ingredients
- 2 cups quinoa
- 2 cups lentils (I use the red split ones, but you can also use beluga, brown, any kind you like, really)
- 2 bell peppers, ideally of different colours
- 150g of mushrooms (shitake is lovely for this recipe)
- 2-3 stalks of scallions (and a little extra for the plating)
- 1 medium leek
- 2-3 stalks of chopped kale or bokchoy (or any leafy green)
- 1 veggie stock cube (careful to get a gluten-free one!)
- Salt and Pepper to taste
Method
1. Wash and soak the lentils for at least 2 hours. Drain.
2. In a medium pot, put the cups of lentils and quinoa together, along with the chopped leeks, chopped scallions and salt and pepper. You can add a veggie stock cube if you want the dish to be more flavourful. Add 3-4 cups of water and start cooking for approximately 10 minutes! Stir from time to time, especially closer to the end (when there is less water). The mixture will be heavy, so don’t turn the heat up too high.
3. When the dish is almost done, add in your chopped mushrooms, chopped kale/leafy green and chopped bell peppers, in that order. Mushrooms need to cook a little, so you can even add while the rice/lentil concoction is still cooking (depending on the type of mushroom you chose for the dish).
And you’re done! A delicious, one-pot meal that has essentially all the carbs, protein and veggies you need! Enjoy!
Peace,
Daisy
