Q.E.D.: Thai Style Red Curry Chickpeas over Quinoa

This post is brought to you by the letter 'q' -- for quinoa! Quinoa is the little ancient grain that could: packed with protein and lots of easily-digestible fiber, it's all the rage nutritionally. Good thing it's also delicious.

I have been meaning to make quinoa forever. I've had it a few times in restaurants, usually in cold pasta salad sorts of preparations. I wanted to try it hot in place of rice. I got Scott on board not just with the quinoa, but with vegetable curry.

Curry is one of those unspeakably comforting foods. I know it's traditionally eaten in warm places like Thailand and India, but nothing warms the bones like a big bowl of curry when there's a foot of snow on the ground. We were lucky to have lots of Thai restaurants in Urbana. And boy howdy did we need the warming power of curry.

Notes: I like my curry just shy of uncomfortably hot. You know the level of heat where you need to sit for a minute in between bites? That kind of heat. The amount of curry paste recommended was not enough. I ended up using a teaspoon and a half, but I should have used AT LEAST a tablespoon, probably more. I'm leaving it at a tablespoon. If you like your curry mild, by all means use less.

I originally intended to use roasted veggies, but the ones I bought were further along than I thought and ended up spoiling in the fridge. So I just used the frozen veggie I had on hand.

The quinoa was delicious: nutty and tender. I think I liked it better than rice. I made this Q.E.D, but if you want to let your curry mixture simmer for awhile, it would be much deeper in flavor.

Ingredients:
1 cup quinoa
2 cups chicken stock
2 tablespoons of butter
1 small onion
5 cloves garlic
1 tablespoon dried basil
1 can coconut milk
1/2 bag of frozen thin cut green beans
15-20 oz. of chickpeas (I used some that I had frozen, but you could use a can)
1 tablespoon red curry paste
Salt

Directions:

Start by rinsing your quinoa under cold water in a fine-mesh strainer.

Let it drain while you start the curry.

Quinoa is ready for its close-up

Slice the onion and mince the garlic.

Put butter in a pan on medium heat. When the butter melts add the onions and garlic.

Next add your coconut milk, basil, and curry paste (the paste will dissolve better with fewer ingredients in the pan -- learned that the hard way!)

The coconut milk with start out looking very thick, but it will thin out

 Next add your chickpeas and green beans.

Season with salt and let it simmer with the lid on for 20 minutes.

Once the curry mix is going, add your chicken stock and quinoa to a 2-quart sauce pot. Bring it to a boil and then turn the heat to low. Cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes.

When it's done, the quinoa will look semi-translucent, it will be tender, and the little curly grain inside it will unfurl like a little tail.

All done!

Dish some quinoa up in a bowl and ladle the curry on top.

Enjoy!