PESTO QUINOA + PREP COOKBOOK REVIEW
Maybe it’s because my daughter just spent three weeks living in a college dorm room wishing for a home-cooked meal, but I thought it’d be a good time to share this essential guide from my friend and nutrition expert, Katie Morford. Her latest cookbook, Prep, provides everything you need to know to get started in the kitchen.
Just like her blog, Mom’s Kitchen Handbook, and her previous cookbooks (Rise and Shine & Best Lunchbox Ever), Katie shares sound nutrition advice along with practical strategies and easy recipes to help new cooks make healthy foods taste delicious. If you’re sending a child off to college this month, or setting up a recent graduate in a new apartment before starting their first job, add this book to the list of goodies you include in their care package. Because learning how to cook simple, healthy meals is one of the most important skills your kids can learn to set them on the right path.
Katie’s Pesto Quinoa recipe is a great place to get started. It’s healthy, easy to make, and comes together quickly which makes it a perfect starter recipe for new cooks. You can use store-bought pesto, or easily make a homemade version like my budget-friendly Nut-Free Basil Pesto made with sunflower seeds.
PESTO QUINOA
Makes about 3 1⁄2 cups
If you’re not familiar with quinoa, let’s start with the name. It comes from South America and is pronounced KEEN-wah. Even though it’s a tiny grain, it’s a bit of a powerhouse as far as nutrition goes and is particularly high in protein. Its small size also means it cooks up quickly.
1 cup quinoa
¼ cup basil pesto, either store-bought or homemade
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
Salt to taste
½ lemon
¼ cup toasted pistachios or roughly chopped walnuts
KEY EQUIPMENT: medium saucepan, fine-mesh colander, medium bowl
1. Put the quinoa into a medium saucepan and add enough water so that the quinoa is covered by at least 1 1⁄2 inches. Set the pot on the stove over high heat and bring to a boil. When the water boils, drop the heat to medium-high until it quiets down to a gentle boil. Set a timer for 15 minutes. When the timer rings, taste the quinoa to be sure it’s done. It should be chewy and tender, not crunchy.
2. Set a fine-mesh colander in the sink. Empty the quinoa into the colander and rinse briefly under water. Drain for a few minutes.
3. Transfer the quinoa to a medium bowl. Add the pesto, olive oil, and salt. Squeeze enough lemon juice to measure 2 teaspoons. Add the juice to the quinoa and stir well. Scatter the nuts over the top. Serve warm.
SERVE WITH: The Lemon-Garlic Chicken Thighs on page 118, the Maple-Mustard Pork Chops on page 125, or the Chopped Greek Salad on page 89.
PRO TIP: Quinoa can be used in many of the same ways you’d use other grains. Serve it as a side dish to chicken or vegetables, or add it to soup or salad.
Did You Know?
Even though it looks and tastes like a grain, quinoa is actually a seed. It’s considered a pseudocereal.
From Prep by Katie Sullivan Morford © 2019 by Katie Sullivan Morford. Photographs © 2019 by Alanna Taylor-Tobin. Reprinted in arrangement with Roost Books, an imprint of Shambhala Publications, Inc. Boulder, CO.
- 1 cup quinoa
- ¼ cup basil pesto, either store-bought or homemade
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- Salt to taste
- ½ lemon
- ¼ cup toasted pistachios or roughly chopped walnuts
- Put the quinoa into a medium saucepan and add enough water so that the quinoa is covered by at least 1 1⁄2 inches. Set the pot on the stove over high heat and bring to a boil. When the water boils, drop the heat to medium-high until it quiets down to a gentle boil. Set a timer for 15 minutes. When the timer rings, taste the quinoa to be sure it’s done. It should be chewy and tender, not crunchy.
- Set a fine-mesh colander in the sink. Empty the quinoa into the colander and rinse briefly under water. Drain for a few minutes.
- Transfer the quinoa to a medium bowl. Add the pesto, olive oil, and salt. Squeeze enough lemon juice to measure 2 teaspoons. Add the juice to the quinoa and stir well. Scatter the nuts over the top. Serve warm.
