Quinoa with Roasted Balsamic Mushrooms

 Quinoa is like the most delicious super grain. As I said in a post from a few weeks ago for quinoa cakes, quinoa has a ton of nutrients and is a nice switch from brown rice. I really like the texture of it. I found this recipe on my Whole Foods app ( why haven’t I used it this much before) and it could literally not be any easier to prepare. 

I got home from the gym at 7pm and I could not wait to eat. I was starving. I quickly threw the quinoa in a pot and followed the package instructions. While that was simmering I chopped up the mushrooms and made the dressing ( which might I add was delicious!) Poured the dressing on top of the mushrooms and threw it in the oven. After about 30 minutes the meal was done. Wow, that was pretty easy. This is another vegetarian meal (which I have been trying to eat more of since I saw the movie Food Inc) and it suits me well. I feel satisfied, and not really missing the meat. Plus after seeing how companies and farmers handle animals we eat I wanted to throw up. Gross.

Anyhoo- I think you will all really enjoy this recipe. It is easy and fast to prepare and it is delicious. I am going to totally make the dressing again. If you want to just do balsamic vinegar, olive oil and mustard you can do that too. Oh and this can be served hot or cold so it would be nice for a potluck or picnic!

Ingredients

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 pear, peeled, cored and cut into chunks
1 garlic clove, halved
2 pounds portobello mushrooms, stemmed and gills scraped out
1 cup red or white quinoa
3 cups tightly packed fresh spinach, chopped
4 green onions, thinly sliced
1/2 cup slivered almonds, toasted
1/8 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Method

Preheat oven to 475°F.

Put vinegar, mustard, pear and garlic in a blender with 1/3 cup water and blend until smooth, about 1 minute, to make the dressing. Cut mushrooms into chunks and combine in a large mixing bowl with 1/4 cup of the dressing. Spread mushrooms in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet. Roast until tender, stirring occasionally, 20 to 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool slightly.

While mushrooms roast, prepare quinoa. In a medium pot, bring 1 3/4 cups water to a boil. Stir in quinoa, cover pot, reduce heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove pot from heat and set aside, covered, 10 minutes more. Uncover and fluff quinoa with a fork.

Combine mushrooms, quinoa, spinach, green onions, almonds, salt, pepper and 1/2 cup more dressing in a large, wide serving bowl. Stir to mix well. Serve with remaining dressing on the side.