Squash and Kale Saute with Quinoa

5

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quinoa and vegetables in a blue and white bowl

Our CSA boxes these past few weeks have contained an abundance of greens and squash (kabocha squash, to be exact).  Last week it included some of these tiny, sweet carrots, as well.

a handful of raw carrots

So when I came across this quick and easy recipe in Real Simple that could easily help me make use of all that beautiful abundance of vegetables, I knew we’d be having it for dinner this week.

cubed butternut squash on a grey countertop

The recipe calls for being served with pesto and pecans, both of which I really liked.  (The crunch of the pecans was great.) But that egg on top really makes it a meal.

a fried egg on top of vegetables in a blue and white bowl

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5 from 3 votes

Quinoa with Squash, Kale, and Pecans

Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 25 minutes
Total: 35 minutes
Servings: 6

Ingredients 

  • 1 cups quinoa, rinsed
  • 2 Tbsp. olive oil
  • 1 lb. vegetables (squash, sweet potato, or carrots), cut into 1-inch pieces
  • kosher salt and black pepper
  • 1 medium red onion, sliced
  • 2 bunches kale (1 1/4 pounds), thick stems removed and leaves cut into bite-size pieces (about 14 cups)

For topping:

  • 4 poached eggs
  • pesto
  • toasted pecans

Instructions 

  • Cook the quinoa according to the package directions.
  • Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the vegetables, 1 teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper and cook, covered, tossing occasionally, until the vegetables begin to brown and soften, 6 to 8 minutes.
  • Add the onion to the pot and cook, tossing occasionally, until the vegetables and onion are tender, 4 to 6 minutes. Add as much kale to the pot as will fit and cook, tossing frequently and adding more kale when there is room, until tender, 3 to 4 minutes.
  • Serve the vegetables over the quinoa, top each serving with a poached egg and serve with pesto and pecans on the side.

Notes

Adapted from Real Simple.

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Author: Jess Smith via Inquiring Chef
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About Jess Smith

Jess is the recipe creator and photographer at InquiringChef.com. She spent nearly a decade as the Chief Recipe Developer for the award-winning meal planning app Cook Smarts. Her colorful, healthyish recipes have been featured in popular online publications including Parade, Hallmark, and HuffPost.

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10 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    This caught my eye because I have ALL of these ingredients on hand and they need to be used! I see a delicious dinner for tonight. 🙂 I’ll be sharing via SM after I try it!

  2. I love the idea of adding an egg on for protein- it’s a great alternative to meat. Looks like a perfect dinner!

  3. 5 stars
    I can’t believe I made this out of instinct this morning and had no idea someone had thought it through exactly the same way – that’s my packaged lunch for today 🙂 AWESOME!!
    Only difference is I threw in a couple pieces of chopped seasoned gizzard I had in the freezer. Yum!

    1. That’s so funny, Sofie – great minds think alike. 😉 I had definitely thought it would be good with a protien in the mix, although the egg did the trick for me, there are so many other ways to vary this!