Quinoa w/ Balsamic, Carrots, & Brussel Sprouts
This Brussel sprout quinoa is a medley of carrots, shallots, roasted garlic, balsamic, tofu, and tomatoes with a fun European peasant flare. People like to ask what I cook and I'm often kind of dumbfounded going... a bit of everything? With some peasant food mixed in?? There's something so hearty about Brussel sprouts, carrots, and tomatoes. But it doesn't have to just be soups, stews, and potatoes! (Not that I won't do that, because that is absolutely delicious!) Today, I'm mixing things up a bit with quinoa, tofu, and balsamic vinegar.
Equipment
- Rice Cooker
- Skillet
- Stovetop
- Paper Towels
Ingredients
- 12 Brussel sprouts quartered
- 2 carrots diced
- 1/2 shallot minced
- 4 cloves roasted garlic (or 2 cloves unroasted garlic)
- 1/3 c. balsamic vinegar
- 1 tbsp. olive oil
- 1 c. white quinoa
- 3 c. water
- 8 oz. tofu (1/2 package)
- 1 tbsp. high heat oil
- 1 tomato diced
- dash salt
- dash pepper
Instructions
Cook Quinoa
- Add brussel sprouts, carrots, shallots, garlic, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, quinoa, water, and spinach to a rice cooker.I usually add the spinach earlier in the process, but almost forgot about it and mixed it in right before cooking! Either way is fine. The order that you put ingredients into the pot doesn't make that much of a difference. I'll usually start with the larger ingredients, like sweet potatoes, and end with the spices on top. But this is more or less a matter of personal preference. Everything will eventually cook in!
- Press the cook button on the rice cooker. While quinoa is not rice, it does cook the same and oftentimes better than rice in a rice cooker. It typically takes 30-45 minutes.
Fry Tofu
- While the quinoa is cooking, drain the water out of the tofu and cut into cubes.
- Wrap in paper towels to absorb the moisture.It's important to absorb as much water out of the tofu as you can. Oil is less dense than water, so the molecules repel one another. With cold ingredients, this causes separation. When you're frying at high temperatures, though, this can cause boiling hot oil to spray back at you.
- Meanwhile, preheat oil in a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat.
- When the skillet has preheated and the majority of the water has absorbed into the paper towels, carefully add the tofu to the skillet. Fry until golden brown. This should take about 2-4 minutes. Rotate until all sides are evenly fried.
- Remove from heat and wrap again in paper towels to absorb the excess oil.
Finish Quinoa
- When the quinoa is fully cooked, add tofu, tomato, salt, and pepper.
- Fluff with a wooden spoon and serve.Do not use a fork or other metal utensil to fluff! It will scratch off the nonstick surface on the rice cooker. This will leach teflon into your food and cause future dishes to stick to the bottom.
Tips, Tricks, & Notes
- I used Roasted Garlic in this recipe. This is entirely optional, though. You can easily cut the amount of garlic in half! If you do want to roast garlic, you'll need at least a head of garlic, olive oil, and a garlic roaster or aluminum foil.
- For a more in-depth article on preparing tofu, check out my article on The Fundamentals of Fried Tofu. Tofu is a surprisingly simple ingredient to work with that is very often overcomplicated. There are some easy pitfalls to avoid for perfectly soft tofu with a nice, crispy fried edge. Using a minimal amount of oil and avoiding the hard, dried out consistency of over-baking or deep frying!
- While quinoa is not rice, it does cook the same and oftentimes better than rice in a rice cooker. For more tips and tricks to rice cooker quinoa, check out my article on The Fundamentals of Making Quinoa, including a stovetop version if you don't have or don't want to use a rice cooker.
- I also tend to prefer tamari over soy sauce. They're both made from fermented soy and a lot of recipes use them interchangeably. Tamari tends to have a richer flavor and less salt content. It also tends to be gluten free.