Quinoa, Asparagus, Kale, and Artichokes

We have beautiful fresh kale in the garden, and the asparagus is coming up nicely, too.  Hmm… what to make with these in combination?  Found this lovely, vegan, and nutritious recipe from Avocado Pesto.  It is very good, quick, and luckily we had what we needed on hand.

Prep time:  10 mins

Cook time:  20 mins

Total time:  30 mins

Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 2 cups uncooked quinoa
• 2½ cups vegetable broth
• 1 lemon, zested and juiced
• 3-4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 teaspoons sunflower oil
• ¾ pound asparagus bottom inch of spears discarded, the rest cut into 1 inch pieces
• 1 cup canned artichoke hearts, quartered
• 2-3 cups kale, chopped
• ¼ cup walnuts, broken into smaller pieces
• salt, pepper to taste
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Parmesan, freshly shredded (optional) (omit for vegan)
• 2 scallions, chopped

Instructions

1. Rinse quinoa in cold water. In a medium pan add quinoa, lemon juice and zest and vegetable broth. Bring to a boil over medium high heat, reduce heat, cover and cook for 10-12 minutes. Remove from heat, fluff with a cover, cover and let sit for 3-5 minutes.
2. In a pan heat sunflower oil (or vegetable oil) over medium heat. Add garlic and cook until just starting to brown – transfer to a bowl. To the same pan add asparagus and cook 2-3 minutes then add kale and cook until just starting to get wilted.
3. Add artichoke hearts and walnuts and continue to cook for a couple minutes. Add garlic back to the pan and mix to combine.
4. When quinoa is fully cooked add it to the pan with the vegetables and mix. Serve sprinkled with Parmesan and scallions.

Update:  After making this dish, I decided it needed a little punch.  Next time I would omit the parmesan, and add a sprinkle of dried cranberries.  Another alternative I'd like to try is to add chopped pepperchinis or something spicy like that, and feta cheese instead of parmesan.