Creamy Lemon Basil Quinoa Primavera

By cwaldron09

Super Easy and fairly cheap. Edamame works great! Needs a lot of spices. Goat cheese is a delicious sub for feta. Makes a ton. Also, don't boil the vegetables, just steam them or stick them in the oven.. they don't have enough flavor and boiling them takes forever. Or saute them in a pan, and any vegetable will work.

Ingredients

• ◾1 and 1/2 cups of uncooked quinoa, rinsed and drained
• ◾2 and 1/2 cups of water (to cook the quinoa)
• ◾1/2 cup of sliced blanched almonds
• ◾2 cups of fresh basil leaves
• ◾1/4 cup of olive oil
• ◾1 clove of garlic
• ◾juice of one medium lemon
• ◾3/4 cup of reduced fat feta cheese (or 1/2 cup of vegan cream cheese)
• ◾1 large bunch of asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
• ◾1 cup of frozen edamame or greens peas
• ◾2 cups of broccoli florets
• Note: you can use any of your favourite green spring vegetables for this quinoa primavera

Preparation

Step 1

1. Bring 2 and 1/2 cups of water and the rinsed quinoa to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Once boiling, reduce heat to a simmer, cover and cook quinoa for 12 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.

2. In a second medium saucepan, bring another 2 cups of water to a boil. Add the asparagus, broccoli florets and edamame (or peas). Reduce heat to low-medium and cook the vegetables for 5 minutes, or until slightly tender. Drain and set aside.

3. Meanwhile, in a food processor, blend the almonds, clove of garlic and olive oil. Add in the 2 cups of fresh basil leaves and lemon juice. Blend again to create a rough paste. Add the feta cheese and blend until creamy.

4. Once the cooked quinoa has cooled slightly, add the basil feta almond pesto and toss well to combine. Add in the cooked vegetables and mix.

Serve warm. Garnish with some crumbled feta and some asparagus tips. Enjoy!