Baked Quinoa Casserole

I was browsing TasteSpotting the other day for quinoa recipes and this one caught my eye.  Not because it looked amazingly good, but because the picture was to put it nicely, not very appetizing and I was curious what the heck it was.  Once I clicked through, the recipe actually sounded pretty good so I decided to make it.  I made a couple of modifications, which I've incorporated below.

Baked Quinoa Casserole

Ingredients:

• 1 cup uncooked quinoa
• 2 cups water
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1½  cups fresh broccoli florets
• ½ white onion, chopped
• Handful of spinach
• 4 large eggs
• 1½ cup milk
• ¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• ½ cup shredded cheese
  

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Lightly oil a 9" pie plate or casserole dish and set aside.
2. In a medium-sized sauce pan over medium-high heat, combine the water, quinoa and salt. Bring the mixture to a boil, cover and simmer for 15 minutes, or until most of the liquid has been absorbed. Turn off the heat and fluff the quinoa with a fork.
3. Place the broccoli florets, spinach and onions on top of the quinoa, cover, and let the saucepan rest on the warm burner for about 5 minutes, or until the florets are bright green and crisp.
4. Meanwhile, beat the eggs in a medium-sized mixing bowl. Add the milk and pepper, whisking until combined. Add the cheese and whisk to combine. 
5. Place the quinoa-vegetable mixture in the prepared casserole dish. Pour the egg mixture over top, mixing gently if necessary.
6. Bake for 35-45 minutes, or until golden brown on top. Allow the baked quinoa to cool for 10 minutes on a wire cooling rack before cutting into slices and serving. Serve hot.

Notes:
You can use soy milk and eliminate the cheese to make it a dairy-free recipe like the original if you want. 

Comments

[Melanie See]

Thanks Judah! I'm going to have to try this one...substituting something else for the broccoli. (I love broccoli...broccoli has no love for me.)

Melanie