Herbed Quinoa

A Combination of Basil and Lemon Zest make this Quinoa Special

About a year ago I caught onto the buzz about Quinoa. Ok, so call me the Decade Behind Girl, the fact that I managed to actually go buy some is a relatively huge thing for me. I got a couple of boxes at my local health food store, brought it home and I'm not sure what I was expecting. Something similar to Couscous, I think. 

After boiling it and then trying it, I wondered what all the hype was. Ok, so it was supposed to be great for you and it's been around for centuries. Maybe it's been around for centuries because no one wanted it and there was an obvious excess?

However, I got a bunch of fresh basil and wondered what can I do with this? I discovered this recipe, and am sharing it with you. I LOVE the flavors of it, and finally I understand what all the *Hype* is about Quinoa!

Directions

boil 1 cup of quinoa in 2 cups of chicken broth and the juice of 1/2 of a fresh lemon. Let this simmer for about 15 minutes.

In a prep bowl, mix up the dressing. You will need:

2 springs of fresh thyme, leaves chopped

2 springs of flat leaf parsley, chopped

3/4 cup of fresh basil, chopped

Lemon zest from a whole lemon

Juice of that whole lemon

salt & pepper to taste

1/4 cup olive oil

Transfer your Quinoa to a salad bowl, and empty the dressing on it. Let it sit just a minute as it soaks up all these wonderful flavors. 

One option that I exercised: a drizzle of truffle oil over it. What a blast of flavor that gave!

Note: I feel that the freshness of the ingredients are critical to the flavor of this recipe. However, if you don't have fresh, then use what you can. I also believe the reason my Quinoa flopped in the past is because it truly needs chicken broth to cook in, not water. (duh!).  The fresh lemon juice in the broth really brought this alive for me. 

Happy Eating!