One Pot Kale and Quinoa Pilaf

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A&M say: Deensiebat's pilaf breathes new life into a familiar classic. Both the quinoa and the hearty strips of lacinato kale (you can use chard or standard kale) crunch lightly between your teeth, and Meyer lemon juice and zest keep the quinoa from being bland. Fresh goat cheese and walnut oil just barely coat the warm pilaf, giving it a creamy, tangy finish, and toasted pine nuts lend some crunch. We love the technique of layering the quinoa and the kale and cooking it all in one pot. - A&M

deensiebat says: I initially developed this combination by combining sauteed kale with leftover quinoa, but have come up with a from-scratch method to cook both elements together perfectly. It satisfies the eternal resolution to eat healthy, teaming complete-protein quinoa with antioxidant-rich kale. And it's one-pot easy, making it a simple way to incorporate healthy eating into a worknight rotation.

Serves 2-4

  • 2 cups salted water
  • 1 cup quinoa
  • 1 bunch lacinato kale, washed and chopped into 1" lengths
  • 1 meyer lemon, zested and juiced
  • 2 scallions, minced
  • 1 tablespoon toasted walnut oil
  • 3 tablespoons toasted pine nuts
  • 1/4 cup crumbled goat cheese
  • salt and pepper
  1. Bring the water to a boil in a covered pot. Add the quinoa, cover, and lower the heat until it is just enough to maintain a simmer. Let simmer for 10 minutes, then top with the kale and re-cover. Simmer another 5 minutes, then turn off the heat and allow to steam for 5 more minutes.
  2. While the quinoa is cooking, take a large serving bowl and combine half of the lemon juice (reserving the other half), all of the lemon zest, scallions, walnut oil (you can substitute olive oil if you desire), pine nuts, and goat cheese.
  3. Check the quinoa and kale when the cooking time has completed -- the water should have absorbed, and the quinoa will be tender but firm, and the kale tender and bright green. If the quinoa still has a hard white center, you can steam a bit longer (adding more water if needed). When the quinoa and kale are done, fluff the pilaf, and tip it into the waiting bowl with the remaining ingredients. As the hot quinoa hits the scallions and lemon it should smell lovely. Toss to combine, seasoning with salt and pepper, and the remaining lemon juice if needed.

Comments (272) Questions (11)

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1 day ago Gessie

Any suggestions to make this sans goat cheese without taking away any flavor? I'm vegan and hate most vegan cheeses...was thinking of adding garlic and chickpeas, thoughts? Thanks!

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1 day ago daisybrain

Some Miso might add some depth of flavor and richness. I'd probably use a deeper one.

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1 day ago The Junk Drunk

Chopped up roasted red peppers might add the velvety, rich feel of the goat cheese. The butternut squash suggested below sounds great too!
thejunkdrunk.wordpress.com

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1 day ago rachel waters

I'm in the transition to vegan land and find vegan cheese to be just disgusting. I used to make it w/feta, now I just make it sans cheese and add some extra scallions and toasted pine nuts. I don't miss it!

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1 day ago Amanda Brothers

See below. There are a couple of posts re: making a vegan version and substitutions.

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3 days ago Melissa Roth

Delish! But then again, I love kale and goat cheese. I'd alter the first step though. Simmering the quinoa and kale for an extra 5 minutes after the quinoa was cooked nearly burnt our pot and cost us some quinoa.

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4 days ago missmoon

Seems like this would work very well with cous cous also. I haven't read all the posts so don't know if anyone has tried that.

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5 days ago beegoode

This was very delicious, though I wish we'd had goat or feta cheese on hand (we subbed Parmesan). I'll try making this again with a different cheese!

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6 days ago rebecca22

made this for a dinner party tonight...mmmm. its SO good! added more lemon because I love the tartness against the creamy goat cheese. this is an easy crowd pleaser. was happy to try walnut oil too-very yummy.

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9 days ago ChefFace

This made me ALMOST love quinoa, I still don't love it, but I liked it, I added some roasted butternut squash and walnuts in place of pine nuts. Thanks! I'm on my way to being a converted quinoa lover, I just know it!

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9 days ago Colleen McAllister

Great. I bet the squash was really good.

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9 days ago ChefFace

It was!! Creamy goodness with the little bites of goat cheese and tangy kale and lemon to offset it. :)

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16 days ago hmoronez

Best recipe ever. It's amazing hot or cold.

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8 days ago emf224

Agreed; so versatile. I’ve omitted the pine nuts and goat cheese and added broth to make soup. I’ve also substituted toasted pumpkin seeds and added chunks of mango to make a nice cold side dish. (Adding white beans or chickpeas make it a meal for me.)

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16 days ago GeorgeaP

This is a staple recipe in my weekend routine. It's so easy and satisfying!

Gaga

17 days ago rachel waters

This is such a favorite of mine...especially because I always have everything on hand and just need to pick up kale. Check out my blog post on it here:

http://feastoffashions...

Stringio

19 days ago Deja Shepherd

i did not like this.

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21 days ago Susige

I now make this with Toasted Sesame Oil instand of Walnut Oil and to me it tastes even better!

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21 days ago Amanda Brothers

I love this recipe! I am vegan, so I skip the goat cheese and I'm allergic to pine nuts, so I skip those, too. But it's still delicious! It cooks up great if you follow the instructions. Easy and quick to cook, and so hearty and healthy. Four stars!

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27 days ago The Junk Drunk

This is such an excellent recipe that I make frequently. Thank you for sharing it with all of us.
http://thejunkdrunk.wordpress...

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about 1 month ago Colleen McAllister

Thanks for the update.

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about 1 month ago JKMurphy

There is a rebuttal to the NPR story that sheds some light. http://bearwitnesspictures...

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29 days ago GrandmaGG

Thanks for posting this link, JKMurphy. It was a well written rebuttal and the blog interesting, too.

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about 1 month ago BocaCindi

Thanks, Amreen on the update regarding Quinoa and the Peruvian farmers.

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about 1 month ago Colleen McAllister

Wow! Just found it & have to find a substitute already. I'm sure there are other grains that would work.

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about 1 month ago Colleen McAllister

This is so good. My first time cooking quinoa, loved it. I made kale chips with the extra kale. I did put the goat cheese in right before I served it so it kind of stayed together. Even my husband loved it!!

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about 1 month ago amreen

I have been using and loving this recipe since it was posted three years ago! I recently read this article that is making me drop Quinoa and look for a substitute ... buying a product that the local communities (in this case the Peruvian farmers) can't even afford to buy (due to the increase in pricing because of consumers like us) is unconscionable to me .. any thoughts?!?1 http://www.guardian.co...

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about 1 month ago daisybrain

I just finished reading the same article. Arsenic in rice, our consumption of quinoa causing poverty in the country in which its grown. Everything's broken.

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about 1 month ago Andreakat

I love faro. I think it would be a great substitute in this this dish. Even better actually since I don't care for quinoa. I think most any sturdy grain would work as well. Bulger would be a good one maybe.

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about 1 month ago goodskyogi

try these fair trade brands of quinoa. http://www.layapaorganic... and http://www.alterecofoods...

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about 1 month ago amreen

oh wow! thank so much for these links!

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about 1 month ago amreen

I am definately gonna have to try faro, never used it before! Its great to know that we can eat good and do good at the same time! I love the fair trade quinoa idea!

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about 1 month ago PeteN

@amreen: I wouldn't pay any attention to that article - it was dreadfully poorly informed, inaccurate and misleading. Out of many problems with it (read the comments section for an idea of the breadth of errors): 1) The author implies that vegetarians carry responsibility for environmental damage through soy production in the Brazilian Amazon. Almost all soy (>95%) produced in Brazilian Amazonia is for export for cattle feed. She discredits herself significantly with this claim. 2) She provides no evidence that the (apparent, but not referenced) increase in quinoa price is the cause of the (apparent, but not referenced) decrease in local consumption. It is equally likely that farmers who are earning more from quinoa sales are choosing to buy more 'western' foods - this is the trend globally, regardless of whether more traditional foods remain available.

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about 1 month ago thirschfeld

fyi, more on the above story http://bearwitnesspictures...

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about 1 month ago FrancineL

Very interesting! Thank you for the link thirschfeld. For the other links above, be aware of what you read; it is not always what it seems like

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about 1 month ago Joyce Therieault

I made this for my family and cooked the kale a little bit longer so it wasn't bitter at all. If it is bitter it could be because the kale isn't fresh. I used olive oil instead of the walnut oil. It was excellent. My teenage kids loved it, and so did the adults.