Fourth of July/Election Weekend here in Thailand was a relaxing one around our house. I did hardly any cooking. Instead, we drank bubble teas, ordered Indian food (I could happily eat butter chicken and naan every day), and I acted as sous chef as my husband baked an overwhelming batch of chocolate chip cookies to take to work.
On Saturday we missed the evening rain showers and hit up a Fourth of July festival hosted by the Thailand’s American Chamber of Commerce. There were tug-o-wars, apple pies, bands playing country music (some with Thai accents), Singha beer stands, and (my personal favorite) free Dairy Queen soft serve cones. The cones melted at an alarming rate, just as I remember them doing when we would slurp them up in the hot July Kansas heat when I was a kid.
Although I had big plans to cook us up some ribs and make a red, white, and blue dessert, neither happened. Instead, the weekend rolled lazily past, and I was shocked to find that we were back into the week again. And, like most weeks, I kicked it off with a big batch of cooked quinoa to keep in the refrigerator while I dream up quinoa salads to make for lunch. With lots of seasoning, carrots and a sweet kick from raisins, this one is a keeper.
Moroccan Quinoa with Carrots and Raisins
Ingredients
- 3 cups low-sodium vegetable broth (or water)
- 2 cups uncooked quinoa
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- ½ tsp. curry powder
- ½ tsp. turmeric powder
- ¼ tsp. cinnamon
- 1 small onion, finely chopped (about ½ cup)
- 2 carrots, thinly sliced and cut into 1-inch strips (about 1 cup)
- 2 scallions (green onions), white and green parts, thinly sliced
- ¼ cup slivered almonds, toasted
- ¼ cup golden raisins
Instructions
- Bring broth to a boil in a large pot with a tight-fitting lid. Pour quinoa into boiling broth, and reduce heat to a simmer. Cover and allow to simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to rest, covered, for 5 minutes more.
- While quinoa is cooking, add olive oil, curry powder, turmeric and cinnamon to a large pan over medium heat. When spices become fragrant, add onion and carrots. Cook, stirring frequently, until onions begin to soften. Remove from heat.
- When quinoa is done, pour onion and carrots over the quinoa. Add scallions, almonds and raisins and stir to combine. Serve immediately.
Notes
I make something like this but never thought to add cinnamon….anything with Quinoa is awesome….they don’t sell it in Trindad so when we moved I smuggled in a 10lb bag. Not kidding 🙂 Thanks for the inspiration!
This looks lovely, I’ll give it a go!
I’ve actually never had Quinoa but I’ve been wanting to try it and this sounds great!
I think you’ll be as surprised as I was, Laura! It’s got such a nice, light flavor and texture – I use it a couple times a week now.
kewl recipe…will try it out sometime.
There are so few recipes for quinoa or farro that I came up with a near identical recipe although I used pinenuts instead of almonds and added a diced golden delicious apple. A lovely recipe ♥ Thanks for sharing!
That sounds lovely – I’ll have to try your combination as well!
As a Group working in the African music industry “moroccan quinoa Inquiring Chef” is right up our street and we will keep checking for interesting additions to your post. If you want to know more about Moroccan Music, visit us at %URL% … Well written, thank you 🙂
I cook this quite often with only 1 minor change, I use dried cranberries instead of the golden raisins.
That’s a great swap – I actually have made it with dried cranberries too, and think it may be better that way. 😉 Thanks so much for your note, Stu!
Great stuff. I used pistachios instead of almonds, it also worked well.