Quinoa recipe: Bowl with Pomegranate Seeds and Mint Pesto

Once a week, it's quinoa day for us. This healthy slightly nutty tasting pseudocereal from South America can be used in a variety of ways - for example, for vegetarian patties, as a rice or pasta substitute, for salads or simply as a carbohydrate-rich side dish.
Other benefits: Quinoa is very nutrient-dense and contains all nine essential amino acids that we should be eating regularly. In addition, quinoa is metabolized alkaline and is gluten-free.
Served in a bowl - as a bowl - we fell in love with the combination of quinoa, pomegranate seeds and a homemade mint pesto made with a blender. The seeds of a perfectly ripened pomgranada turn this quinoa recipe into a crunchy delight.

Quinoa recipe

Quinoa Bowl

Prep Time 30 Min

Perform Time 10 Min

Total Time 40 Min

Calories 390 kcal

Cuisine Main Course

Author Carla from GrueneSmoothies.com

5 / 5 out of 1067 Reviews

 

Ingredients

• 150 g quinoa
• 1 tsp sea salt for the cooking water
• seeds of ½ pomegranate
• 1 handful of pecans chopped
• 1 stalk of celery diced
• ½ fennel bulb diced
• 2 tbsp lemon juice fresh

 

Instruction

1. Wash the quinoa with hot water before cooking, this reduces the saponins - which taste slightly bitter and soapy.
2. Then soak the quinoa in cold water for ½ hour - this reduces the enzyme inhibitors and makes it even more digestible.
3. Then drain the soaking water and rinse the quinoa again. Briefly boil it in a pot with double the amount, i.e. 300 ml of lightly salted water.
4. Then let it swell for about 10 minutes at minimum temperature with the lid on. Attention, the uniform, nice to bite consistency is reached quickly!
5. When the quinoa is al dente, drain any remaining cooking water and led it cool down until it is lukewarm.
6. Meanwhile, remove the seeds from the pomegranate. This can be done relatively spot and splash free by coring the pomegranate underwater. Fill a medium bowl with cold water - cut the pomegranate at the stem and break it in two underwater. Now you can easily remove the seeds, while the separating skins and the peel float to the top. You can simply skim them off and then drain the seeds into a sieve. Done.
7. Then dice the fennel and celery finely, chop the pecans a bit and mix them into the quinoa. Add the pomegranate seeds and mix them into the quinoa as well.

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Vegan mint pesto

With cashews

Prep Time 10 Min

Perform Time 5 Min

Total Time 15 Min

Amount 400 g

Calories 2900 kcal

Cuisine Pesto

Author Carla from GrueneSmoothies.com

5 / 5 out of 1064 Reviews

 

Ingredients

• 50 g mint fresh, remove lower stems
• 200 g cashew nuts
• 1 garlic clove medium, peeled
• 200 ml olive oil
• zest and juice of ½ lemon
• ½ tsp sea salt
• 2-3 ice cubes

 

Instruction

1. Wash the mint.
2. Pluck off the mint leaves - be sure to remove the lower stems, they are very bitter.
3. First put the mint in the container and then add the remaining ingredients as well as the ice cubes. By the way, the ice cubes also guarantee the squeaky green color.
4. If you want your pesto to be slightly chunky, blend on low speed-level. If you want the consistency to be creamy, blend on a higher level. The pesto can be stored in the refrigerator for at least 1 week.
5. Tip I: If the mint pesto tastes too bitter, season the pesto with a little honey or agave syrup.
6. Tip II: Any type of pesto can be prepared in no time with a high-speed blender. To prevent the pesto from heating up too much, simply add a few ice cubes.

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Arrange Quinoa Bowl

Pour quinoa into a bowl and garnish with about 2-3 tablespoons of pesto. To top it off, season it with fresh lime zest and juice as well as salt and pepper.

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Do you also use quinoa frequently and if so, how do you like your quinoa?

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