Quinoa with Broccoli Pesto

In a medium saucepan, heat the quinoa with the water until boiling. Once it boils reduce heat, cover and simmer until all the water is absorbed and quinoa fluffs up, about 15 minutes. Quinoa is done when the seeds have sprouted. Remove from heat and set aside.

Heat a large pot of water to boiling and add the broccoli. Cook just long enough to take the raw taste out and until broccoli is bright green. This will take about 90 seconds. Drain broccoli and rinse with cold water to stop broccoli from continuing to cook. Set aside.

To make the broccoli pesto, puree 2 cups of the cooked broccoli, the whole cloves of garlic, ⅓ cup of the almonds, 1/3 cup of the Parmesan, salt and lemon juice in a food processor. Drizzle in the olive oil and heavy cream and pulse until nearly smooth.

Just before serving, toss the quinoa and remaining cooked broccoli florets with the broccoli pesto. Taste and you might decide to add more lemon juice or salt at this time. Add the remaining ⅓ cup Parmesan cheese and taste. Add more if you like.

Spoon mixture onto a serving platter or plates. Add toppings of your choice. I highly recommend some sliced avocado and liberal amounts of the red chili oil.

For the red chili oil:
Heat ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil in a small saucepan until heated, but not so hot that it smokes. Turn off the heat and stir in 1½ teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes. Set aside and let the oil cool. This is good prepared the day before and kept in the refrigerator overnight. Bring back to room temperature again before using.

Recipe adapted from 101 Cookbooks.