Quinoa Pilaf with Dried Fruits ( first posted in January 2017)

I am having company for dinner tonight.. & could not decide what to make as a  side dish with the chicken… so I decided to look through my own blog for a recipe that I might have forgotten about! & I found this! I love it..

.I adapted the original recipe….. I changed the sweetener from sugar to maple syrup and it was really good. I added dried cranberries that are unsweetened and raisins, although if I would have had currants I would have added them because they are not quite as sweet as the raisins are. Also, I like the idea of adding some kind of nuts. My preference would be slivered almonds, but toasted sunflower seeds would be good too or any nuts you prefer.

I don’t know where I got the original recipe from….I found it written down in notes  on my phone… so I apologize for not giving credit to the author of this recipe, but  I did make a couple changes…

Quinoa Pilaf with Dried Fruits

Ingredients

2 cups quinoa, rinsed

3 cups boiling water

4 tbsp olive oil – divided

2 onions, chopped

4 carrots, chopped

2 cups dried fruit, chopped if necessary … I like to use cranberries & currants or sometimes I have a pkg of mixed dried berries…but use whatever you would like here

pinch of cinnamon

1 tbsp maple syrup

3 tbsp fresh lemon juice

2 tbsp kosher salt

1/4 cup slivered almonds, optional ( any nut of your choice)

Method

1. Put the quinoa into the boiling water. Stir,  Cover and reduce heat. Simmer until tender and the water has been absorbed.
2. While the quinoa is cooking, heat 2 tbsp of oil in a saucepan.
3. Add onions and carrots and cook until tender
4. Add the dried fruit, cinnamon, maple syrup, lemon juice and salt. Mix to combine and cook a bit longer. The dried fruit will soften up as it warms in the pan
5. In a large bowl, combine the cooked quinoa and the mixture from the saucepan. Add the remaining 2 tbsp olive oil, the lemon juice and the nuts.

***The original recipe says this serves 8 -10 people, but of course the number of servings depends on how big the servings are!!

***This is good served warm as a side dish, room temperature or cold right from the fridge which is how I aml eating the leftovers!

***It is also delish as a salad, add some washed and trimed spinach or chopped kale.