Broccoli Quinoa Casserole

For reasons entirely inexplicable to me, I only started cooking with quinoa within the last few weeks. Certainly, it’s everywhere, and I’ve read about a million quinoa-related recipes; but, for whatever lazy reasons I have, that never translated into actually the preparing and eating the grain. I’m glad I finally got my act together – it’s been a wonderful new world of food of healthy, tasty food I can prepare on the weekends and eat for lunch throughout the week (which, truthfully, is what I’m always after!).

 

 

There’s tons of recipes for quinoa online, and I’ve made some tasty salads with roasted veggies, feta cheese, and (usually) pistachios. However, my good pal Kathleen – a quinoa believer, for sure – just sent me this recipe that’s absolutely delicious. Super healthy and filled with veggies, it’s also got lots of protein from cottage cheese and eggs. And I know the cottage cheese sounds a little weird – but you can’t taste it, and instead it adds great moisture and makes it an extra filling dish. Enjoy!

 

Kathleen’s Broccoli Quinoa Casserole

Recipe by Kathleen, with some very minor tweaks by yours truly

 

1/2 cup uncooked quinoa (cook it following package directions & cool)

olive oil

1 clove garlic, minced

1 small onion, chopped

2 cups broccoli, florets cut into small pieces

10 ounces mushrooms, sliced

1 cup cottage cheese

3 eggs, beaten

3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese, divided

Salt & Pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray a 2-quart casserole dish with cooking spray.

Cook quinoa according to package directions, and cool completely (I stuck mine in the freezer for 15 minutes).

Meanwhile, prep the veggies. Cook your broccoli either by steaming or blanching in boiling water for 3-4 minutes. Heat oil in a large skillet, then add the garlic and onion and cook for about 5 minutes, until onion is translucent. Add mushrooms, season with salt and pepper, and sauté for about 10 minutes, until mushrooms are brown and toasty. Remove from heat and cool completely (a few minutes in the freezer helped speed up this process).

Once all your ingredients are cooled, in a large bowl, mix together the quinoa, broccoli and mushrooms. Add in the beaten eggs, cottage cheese, and 1/2 cup of parmesan. Season with another pinch of salt and plenty of pepper.

Pour mixture into prepared casserole dish. Bake in preheated oven for 30-35 minutes, for the last 5 minutes of cooking, sprinkle 1/4 cup parmesan on top and broil for a nice crusty and cheesy top.

Remove from oven and let cool a bit before serving, it’s great either warm or room temp.

Kathleen says it serves 6, I’d say it serves more like 4.

Posted on August 24, 2014
Posted in main dish, quick and easy, vegetarian