Nourish the Budding Lotus

Creamy Squash-Gingered Quinoa

Thanksgiving morning I woke up with a big chunk of time before joining my extended family for our Thanksgiving meal, and still no clear plan of what I wanted to “bring to the table”.  It is odd for me not to have a plan of what to cook…a recipe that I have been looking forward to testing out on just the right occasion.  I guess I was a bit preoccupied though.  Lots going on lately!  Packing, moving, planning to move again soon after the first move.  Living in cold weather, packing for warm weather, and who knows what else.  So, in the mix of it all, I was sort of lost for inspiration on this Thanksgiving day.

The next thing that happened was a welcome distraction from it all.  My neighbors invited me for a morning walk, and I was quite happy to have some company and get out of the house.  A release from all of my worries for a 1 hour walk…which turned into more.  By the time we got back, I realized that I had left myself very little time to actually come up with a recipe and prepare a dish to bring to my aunt’s house.  So, I quickly googled up a few ideas and then decided to go with my own.

Quinoa is a very easy grain to cook.  It is one of the fastest, and personally I find that it is pretty difficult to mess up.  Perfect!  Normally I make a simple “naked” quinoa to accompany other dishes, but this time I decided to be adventurous and try something new.  A little ginger, and a creamy dollop of butternut squash, and voila – quinotto.  (At first I thought I might be making up this term, but after googling it to be sure, of course someone else had come up with it first.)  A creamy version of quinoa that resembles risotto.

This turned out to be so easy to make, and absolutely delicious.  I was even surprised that everyone who tried it really liked it too.  Even the ones who had never heard of/seen quinoa before!  So, don’t be shy.  Step up to the “plate” and try it yourself…and let me know what you think.

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Butternut Squash Quinotto

1.5 lb butternut squash
2 T fresh ginger – minced
1/2 medium onion – diced
1 T olive oil
1 c quinoa
2 c water
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400 F

Slice butternut squash in half the long way and place the halves face-down on a lightly oiled baking sheet.  Once oven is warm, bake the squash for 30-45 minutes.  Once the squash is tender, remove from the oven and let cool.

Meanwhile, rinse the quinoa in a fine mesh strainer.  Quinoa has a residue called “saponin” which gives off a bitter taste, so make sure that you rinse the seeds until there is no “soapy” foam that appears while rinsing.  Once finished, let the quinoa sit and prepare the rest of the dish.

Using a cast iron pan (or other frying pan) heat up 1 T olive oil over medium heat and add in the diced onion.  After 2 minutes add in the minced ginger and cook for another 2 – 3 minutes or until it just begins to brown.  Add 1 t salt.  Next add in the quinoa to toast it.  The quinoa will still have some moisture on it, so you will need to heat the quinoa on medium-high stirring frequently until the quinoa begins to brown.  Once the quinoa starts to toast, add in the water and bring to a boil.  Once it reaches a boil, turn the heat down to low and cover with a lid so that the quinoa is simmering.  Let cook for 10 minutes or until tender.

While the quinoa is cooking, removed the skin of the butternut squash and place the meat in a food processor.  Puree until it reaches a smooth consistency.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Once the quinoa is done, add the butternut squash puree 1/2 cup at a time to the quinoa, stirring to combine it.  Depending on your personal preference, you might not want to use all of the squash, but just enough to create a creamy consistency.  This is also when you can add more salt and pepper if necessary.

Enjoy!

Note:  If you have leftover squash, you can use it as the base for a delicious vegetable soup.  I will have to share my recipe for that sometime soon.

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