Middle Eastern Quinoa Apricots Recipes

Steps:

• Bring 2 cups water to a boil in a small saucepan over high heat. Stir in the quinoa. Cover, reduce the heat to low and cook until the liquid is just absorbed and the quinoa is moist and nearly tender, about 15 minutes.
• Transfer the quinoa to a large bowl and immediately stir in the oil, apricots, 1 1/4 teaspoons salt and 3/4 teaspoon pepper. Set aside to cool slightly, about 20 minutes, stirring a couple times. Refrigerate until chilled, at least 2 hours.
• When the quinoa is cool and ready to serve, stir in the arugula, basil, lemon juice and pistachios. Add salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle with the goat cheese and serve.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Bring the water to a boil in a small saucepan. Add quinoa; return to a boil. Stir once; cover, and reduce heat to a simmer. Cook until quinoa is slightly underdone (it will finish cooking in the oven) and has absorbed most of the liquid, about 12 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer quinoa to a rimmed baking sheet. Bake, fluffing with a fork occasionally, until pale golden, 30 to 35 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl, and let cool.
• Spread oats evenly on the baking sheet; bake, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, about 15 minutes. Add oats to bowl with quinoa. Spread seeds on baking sheet; bake, stirring occasionally, until lightly toasted, about 7 minutes. Add to quinoa mixture; let cool. Reduce oven temperature to 300°F.
• Toss nuts, apricots, sugar, and salt with quinoa mixture. Mix honey, oil, and vanilla into eggs; stir into quinoa mixture.
• Line an unrimmed baking sheet with parchment paper; lightly coat with cooking spray. Place 1/4 cup mixture onto sheet for each cluster, spacing them 3 inches apart. Flatten to 1/4 inch thick. Bake, rotating sheet halfway through, until crisp, about 25 minutes. Let cool completely on a wire rack. Store loosely covered with aluminum foil, for up to 2 days, at room temperature.
• Nutrition Information
• Per Serving (2 clusters)
• Calories: 329
• Saturated Fat: 3.4g
• Unsaturated Fat: 7.2g
• Cholesterol: 42.3mg
• Carbohydrates: 49g
• Protein: 10g
• Sodium: 139mg
• Fiber: 5g

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400°F.
• Cut the acorn squash in half lengthwise and remove the seeds and strings. Place squash cut side down in a shallow baking dish and fill with 1/4" of water. Bake for 30-35 minutes, until the flesh is easily pierced with a fork.
• In the meanwhile, melt the butter in a small saucepan on medium heat, whisking constantly. Watch closely as brown flecks begin to appear. As soon as the butter turns a caramel brown color and has a nutty fragrance (this should take between 4-6 minutes; do not allow the butter to turn black), remove from the heat and transfer to a medium bowl. Stir in the olive oil, cinnamon and cardamom. Note: Can add additional spices, like ground coriander, ground cumin, red or black pepper.
• Add the 1 1/3 cup water and quinoa to the same saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, cover and cook for 17 minutes. Remove from the heat and fluff with a fork.
• Toss 2 cups of the quinoa with the seasoned brown butter, cashews, apricots and mint. Cover the quinoa mixture to keep it warm if the squash needs more time to finish baking.
• Equally divide the quinoa filling among the four squash halves. Serve immediately. Refrigerate leftovers for up to 2 days.

Steps:

• In a pot:.
• Stir fry the grains in 1 Tbsp oil for 3 minutes.
• Add chopped apricots, raisins, spices and stir.
• Add 2 1/4 c hot or boiling water.
• Bring to boil, cover pot and simmer on a low flame for 34-45 minutess. (All the water should be absorbed).
• Turn off stove and let sit an additional 10 minutes.
• Serve hot.
• (my hubbie likes this cold too).

Steps:

• Cook quinoa following the pack instructions, then drain if there is any excess liquid. Meanwhile, pour some boiling water over the apricots in a bowl to plump them up.
• Tip the cooked quinoa into a bowl and stir in the lemon zest, juice and olive oil with some seasoning. Drain the apricots, roughly chop, and stir into the quinoa along with the herbs. Scatter with pine nuts and serve.