Quinoa risotto with arugula, asparagus, and mushrooms
Add the tastes of spring to this ancient South American grain.
I have personally prepared almost all the recipes I've shared over the past seven years as in "See one, do one, teach one." Occasionally there's a recipe so good that it is more like "Eat one, teach one."
That's the way it is with this risotto my wife made recently. Asparagus season is short and I don't want you to miss out on the chance to try this. It is an absolutely wonderful and healthy dish.
Quinoa is an ancient grain from South America. It has made its way to a grocery store near you. We had red quinoa which added its own beauty to the dish.
Unbelievably good.
Note: Nutrition information is using low sodium broth and without added salt.
Servings: 3
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 yellow onion, diced
- 1 large clove garlic, minced
- 1 cup quinoa, rinsed
- 2 1/4 cups vegetable broth
- 2 cups coarsely chopped fresh arugula
- 1 medium carrot, shredded (if you have a food processor, try the shredder disk)
- 1/2 cup thinly sliced shiitake mushrooms
- 1/2 bunch skinny asparagus, trimmed of the thick ends and sliced into 1″ pieces
- 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
Directions
- Using a large saucepan, heat 2 teaspoons of the oil over medium heat.
- Saute the onion until softened, about 4 minutes.
- Stir in the quinoa and garlic and cook, stirring, for about a minute.
- Add the broth and bring to a boil then simmer for about 12 minutes. The grain will be almost tender at this point.
- Meanwhile, saute the mushrooms and skinny asparagus pieces in a non-stick skillet using the remaining teaspoon of oil until the mushrooms are almost cooked and the asparagus is crunchy tender.
- Stir the arugula, carrot, mushrooms, and asparagus into the grain and simmer for another couple minutes.
- Stir in the cheese and season to taste with salt and pepper. Unbelievably good
Nutrition information (per serving)
- Calories: 367
- Total fat: 12 g
- Saturated fat: 3 g
- Trans fat: 0 g
- Cholesterol: 7 mg
- Total carbohydrate: 51 g
- Total sugars: 5 g
- Dietary fiber: 7 g
- Sodium: 220 mg
- Protein: 17 g