Quinoa w/ Tomatoes, Jalapeños, & Fennel
This Fennel Quinoa consists of tomatoes, jalapeños, fennel bulbs and fronds, quinoa, and freshly squeezed lemon juice for a bright and floral salad. This is incredibly refreshing on a hot summer day when a lettuce salad simply won't do. It's also a great dish to mix and match your own favorite fruits and vegetables with and make distinctly your own.
Equipment
- Rice Cooker
Ingredients
- 2 tomatoes diced
- 1 tbsp. fennel (bulb or stalk) diced
- 1/2 tsp. fennel fronds (leaves) minced
- 1 jalapeño minced
- dash salt
- dash pepper
- 1 ½ c. quinoa
- 3 c. water
- 1 lemon juiced
Instructions
- Add all of the ingredients, except for the lemon juice into a rice cooker. I like to start with the larger produce and then add the smaller ingredients. Top with the spices. And then add the quinoa and water.I like a crisper tomato, so I put one tomato in to cook and one after it cooked. Although this is entirely personal preference!This cooks the larger vegetables on the bottom, while dispersing the flavor profiles in the middle. Although with some mixing, this really doesn't matter all that much. Everything will eventually cook together!
- Press the cook button on the rice cooker. It should take about 45 minutes to cook.
- When the quinoa is fully cooked, let sit for 10 minutes and add the lemon juice and second tomato. Then, fluff with a wooden spoon and serve.Do not use a fork or other metal utensil. 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
- 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. Alternatively you can simmer on the stove. Add all of the ingredients to a pot, bring uncovered to a boil, lower heat to a simmer, and cook for about 15 minutes, or until the sweet potatoes and quinoa are tender. Turn off heat, add lid, and let sit another 5-10 minutes.
- You can also easily substitute other vegetables or types of quinoa. For this recipe I used whatever I had ripening in my garden with royal quinoa. Royal quinoa is primarily cultivated in Bolivia and tends to have larger grains and a fluffier texture. I tend not to notice much of a difference between typical white quinoa and royal quinoa. But it’s always fun to explore! Red quinoa has a more prominent and nuttier flavor and tri-colored is largely the in-between variety.
- Any quinoa, or even other grain or legume, like lentils or rice, would substitute in this recipe without changing the ratio.