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Quinoa with onions, carrots, chick peas and raisins
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Jewelled Quinoa w/ Chick Peas, Orange, Greek Raisins & Olive Oil

I fell in love with jewelled rice, a Persian classic, since first tasting it many years ago. I have adapted it here so that quinoa is the starch. You can find Greek olive oil and other carefully curated Greek artisan products at my online food store, here.
Course brunch, dinner, Lunch, side dishes
Cuisine Greek, Greek cuisine, Mediterranean diet, vegan
Keyword chickpeas, Corinth raisins, Diane Kochilas, extra virgin olive oil, Greek olive oil, Greek recipes, oranges, quinoa
PREP TIME 15 minutes
COOK TIME 30 minutes
SERVES 4

Ingredients

  • ½ cup extra virgin Greek olive oil
  • 2 medium carrots peeled and diced
  • 1 red onion diced
  • 1 garlic clove diced
  • 1 small fennel bulb diced
  • 1 scant teaspoon cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 star anise
  • 1 cup quinoa cooked according to package directions
  • Peel of 1 orange cut into 1-inch / 2.5-cm strips, then julienned
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 2 cups cooked chickpeas
  • ½ cup golden raisins
  • ½ cup chopped fresh parsley
  • Salt pepper to taste

Instructions

  1. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a medium frying pan over medium heat and cook the carrots, fennel and onion, covered, until soft and glistening, about 8 minutes. Stir in the spices and cook all together for a minute. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, for a minute. Remove from heat. Remove and discard the star anise.
  2. Cook the quinoa according to package directions. Alternatively, place it in a pot with ample cold water and bring to a simmer. Cook for 15 minutes, then drain. Fluff with a fork.
  3. While the quinoa and onion-carrot mixture are cooking, prepare the orange zest. Bring a cup of water in a small pot to a boil and blanch the peel. Drain and repeat two more times, to de-bitter. Then, place the sugar and ½ cup of water in the small pot. Bring to a simmer and add the julienned, blanched orange zest. Cook for 2 – 3 minutes, then drain.
  4. In a mixing bowl, combine the cooked (and drained) quinoa, onion-carrot-fennel mixture, cooked chick peas, raisins, orange zest, parsley and remaining olive oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve, war or at room temperature. It’s delicious with a little Greek yogurt on the side, too.