My husband and I made an amazing meal for our little New Years Eve get together last night. We had 4 of our closest friends over last night and had a great time hanging out, eating some out of this world food, and drinking some fabulous alcohol. We sure are foodies.
We had to die for smoked prime rib with several sides: garlic asparagus, brussel sprout gratin, Yorkshire pudding, and quinoa salad with olives and celery. For dessert we had the caramel marshmallows, with whiskey and bacon bars I posted about yesterday. The quinoa salad was super easy and flavorful.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
- 1 1/2 cups quinoa, well rinsed
- 2 1/4 cups water
- Salt
- pepper
- 1/2 cup pitted and thinly sliced black, green olives, and kalamata olives
- 1/2 cup chopped celery
- 1/2 cup chopped marinated artichoke hearts
- 1/2 cup pine nuts, toasted
- 1/3 cup fresh basil leaves, finely chopped
- 1/3 cup cilantro leaves, finely chopped
- 1/3 cup flat-leaf parsley leaves, finely chopped
- spoonful marinated artichoke heart oil
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons capers with juice
- In a large saucepan or deep skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring often until softened about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook just until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the quinoa and cook, stirring, for 1 minute.
- Stir in 2 1/4 cups water, season with salt and bring to a boil over high heat. Lower the heat, cover and simmer until the water is absorbed about 20 minutes. Let stand for 5 minutes. Add the olives, celery, chopped artichoke hearts, pine nuts, basil, cilantro and parsley and toss with a fork to combine.
- Mix the spoonful of marinated artichoke heart oil, olive oil, lemon juice, and capers with juice. Pour into the quinoa mixture and stir. Season with salt and pepper as neccesary.
I don’t even know what quinoa is; I’m going to make this and find out
It’s on the grocery list.
Quinoa is amazing! It has a really great taste, it takes like real food but doesn’t have too strong of a flavor. It is really high in protein which is fantastic! Oh, and it’s gluten free