Another recipe from Healthy Slow Cooking. My new books, The Great Vegan Bean Book and Vegan Slow Cooking for Two or Just You, are available for pre-order now.
This recipe is one of my favorites because it has a ton of leeway. No red peppers? Use green peppers or toss in the leftover cooked veggies from last night. No quinoa? Leftover millet or even brown rice would do the job just fine. Just imagine cleaning out the fridge one a week on taco night!
Tri-color Quinoa and Greens Taco Filling
Serves 4 to 6
- 1 cup water or vegetable broth
- ½ cup Roland® Pre-washed Tricolor Quinoa
- 2 tablespoons water or broth, for sauteing
- ½ small onion (about ½ cup)
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ medium red bell pepper (about ½ cup)
- 1 ½ to 2 teaspoons cumin powder, to taste
- 1 ½ to 2 teaspoons chili powder, to taste
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 ½ cup chopped greens (collards, kale, spinach, etc.)
- ¼ cup nutritional yeast flakes
- salt, to taste
Add the water or broth to a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Add quinoa, reduce heat to a simmer and cook for about 15 minutes or until you see the tiny white tails unfurl on the quinoa. Set aside.
Add the water or broth to a non-stick large sauté pan and heat over medium heat. (Use water or broth instead of olive oil to make this dish oil-free.) Add onion and sauté until translucent. Then add the garlic and red pepper. Cook for about 2 to 3 minutes more or until the peppers become tender.
Stir in the cooked quinoa, 1 ½ teaspoons cumin powder, 1 ½ teaspoons chili powder and all the paprika. (If the pan is dry add a few tablespoons of water or broth so the mixture will not stick to the pan.)
Cook and stir until the mixture just starts to get rid of the excess liquid. Then stir in the collards and the nutritional yeast. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes more or until the collards become tender. Mix in some salt, taste and add more spices if needed.
Serve in taco or burrito shells and pile on your favorite toppings. If you are avoiding taco or burrito shells this also makes a tasty and nutritious salad or baked sweet potato topping!
May 7th, 2013 at 10:25 am
I took this to a mostly vegan and healthy cooking club a couple of weeks ago. I crisped up some small good corn tortillas on my non stick taco maker pan and brought along some fresh mixed greens. Everyone in the group made little tacos and loved it.
By the way, when I clicked on your Amazon shopping link above, the salad spinner was hidden with a warning, “adult product”!