Time for a shock: I used a recipe for this week's lunch! An honest-to-goodness recipe!
Heidi Swanson's 101 Cookbooks is a big source of inspiration for both recipes and photography. When I first saw her recipe for Double Broccoli Quinoa I was skeptical - broccoli pesto? Really? But I've been eating a lot of broccoli these days, and I'm starting to get sick of it. So I decided to give this recipe a try, and I'm glad I did - it's really garlicky and nutty with this great freshness from the broccoli and lemon juice.
Also, I don't use slivered almonds enough. Something about the size is just perfect in salads.
I love the color of this pesto. So bright and refreshing in January! In addition to the broccoli, it contains toasted almonds, grated parmesan, garlic, and lemon juice.
Mix pesto with quinoa and you get greenoa!
I bulked up the dish with some chickpeas (of course), a hard boiled egg, and some sesame seeds. I promise the quinoa is underneath all of the deliciousness!
I used the leftover broccoli pesto to make chicken tenders! First, I spiked the pesto with a little sriracha, then I mixed about a cup of panko breadcrumbs with some smoked paprika, salt and pepper. Then I spread the pesto all over the chicken tenders, dredged them in the breadcrumbs, and placed on a metal rack on a baking sheet. Sprayed with an oil sprayer, then baked for about 15-20 minutes (you could pan-fry too) and they turned out really well. The chicken stayed moist, and the pesto turned it into something different and a little special!
I want to use more actual recipes this year. I have some great cookbooks but rarely use them!
I am good at find recipes that look good - but horrible at actually following them...
ReplyDeleteGlad it's not just me! Maybe I'll try to follow one recipe per week (or per month, more realistically).
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