I first saw this wonderful fall dish in a Martha Stewart Living magazine last year, but have since misplaced the magazine and reconstructed this recipe from memory…
Quinoa (keen-wah) is a super nutritious versatile grain. Unlike many other common grains, quinoa contains a balanced set of essential amino acids for humans, making it exceptionally complete in nutrition. That means, unlike with wheat proteins, you don’t need to supplement your diet with legumes (which contains other amino acids). Quinoa is gluten free and considered easy to digest. In this form it is suitable as a hearty side dish or a vegetarian main course. Nutty, rich, savory, fragrant…fresh! Enjoy.
1 cup quinoa
2 cups chicken broth
swig of olive oil
1 cup diced yellow onion
2 cups diced butternut squash, plus 4 thinly sliced rings of squash (from the bottom)
2 cups shredded parmesan
2 tsp. dried sage
salt and pepper
Preheat oven to 400F. Line cookie sheet with parchment paper. In large bowl, toss squash pieces and rings with olive oil, salt and pepper. Spread squash out in single layer on cookie sheet and bake for 20 minutes, or until roasted and tender. Set aside. Lower the oven temp to 350F. In medium saucepan, heat 1 tbs. or so of olive oil on med-high heat. Saute onions until translucent. Add quinoa, and stir until lightly browned, about 1 minute. Add chicken broth and bring to boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to med-low and simmer, covered, for 20-25 minutes, or until liquid is all absorbed and grain has opened. Set aside. In large mixing bowl, mix roasted DICED squash, cooked quinoa, parmesan, sage, salt and pepper. Lightly spray a deep glass pie dish with olive oil. Place the four roasted squash rings on bottom of dish; don’t overlap. Dump the quinoa mixture into pie dish and press down evenly. Return to oven for 30-40 minutes, or until edges are browned. Let cool for 10 minutes. Invert onto a serving plate. Cut into wedges, and serve warm or cooled.
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Being “artsy”, I love the way quinoa looks… those little, perfect discs with a ring around the edge and one teensy little dot. We ate a lot of this when my son had his wheat and corn sensitivity. Very versatile grain. I tried it first plain… ~shudder~. Pretty tasteless stuff and “pops” like caviar when you eat it. However, “dressed up”, it is quite good.
I gotta try this recipe! Does it really stick together enough to be able to slice? I’d probably make a big pile of it when inverting… I’m all thumbs when doing that. Thanks for sharing!
~KH
KH,
I really think it’s the parmesan, but it totally sticks together, and can be easily cut into wedges. Must try it…surprisingly easy but tastes sophisticated!
I made this recipe this week and we LOVED it! I had never cooked quinoa before and so far have tried 2 recipes and we really like it. I packed a slice of the quinoa pie and some leftover pizza in my husband’s lunch and he told me later that he wished he had had more of the pie instead of the pizza…you have to understand that this almost an unbelievable thing for him to say,. laugh.
Thanks!!
Susie, I love this recipe…and yes, my husband now prefers quinoa pie over just about anything for lunch! It’s so good hot or cold, as leftovers. Thanks for letting me know you enjoyed it!