Quinoa with Roasted Fennel and Onions
Last week’s ugly produce box came with a bunch of small onions and a gigantic fennel. With the chilly weather we are having, I was craving something nutty, toasty, and caramelly. I decided to make a quinoa dish with them instead this week. I wanted to keep the lovely roasted flavors as the highlight, so I complimented this dish with a light lemon dressing just to brighten it up a bit. I didn’t have any arugula or baby spinach, but I imagine it would taste great in this dish. I’d add it to Step 6- right when the quinoa is done- using the residual heat to wilt the greens. Please comment if you try this, or have other variations you want to share!
Ingredients
1 large fennel bulb
1 medium white or yellow onion
4 scallions
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper (to sprinkle on veggies before roasting)
1 cup quinoa
2 cups vegetable broth or water
1 tbsp craisins
2 tbsp fennel fronds, finely chopped (optional- if you have them)
2 tbsp sliced almonds (optional)
Lemon Dressing
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
3 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp brown or Dijon mustard
Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 400 F.
2. Cut the veggies:
Fennel- If you got a whole fennel, pick off and keep the the green fronds until Step 8- they add a nice flavor if you add them at the end. Then cut off and discard the rest of the stalk. Cut the fennel in half top-to-bottom (cut through the core at the bottom). Then cut each half into half lengthwise, and each quarter into half lengthways. You should have 8 wedges at the end of this. I like to the leave core of the fennel and onion in while roasting so that it keeps the wedges together- we will trim it off later in the recipe.
Onion- Peel the outer layer off, then cut into 8 wedges as described above for the fennel.
Scallions- Cut the scallions in half where the white part (bottom) begins to turn green (top). Cut the root off the white part. Thinly slice the green part, and keep it aside until Step 8.
3. Roast the veggies: Place the fennel in a medium sized pot with 2 tbsp of olive oil and toss well. Then, arrange the fennel wedges in a single layer on a baking sheet. Place the onions in the same pot and toss with the olive oil that remains in the pot. Arrange these next to the fennel on the baking sheet. Finally, toss the scallions in the pot with the remaining olive oil and place them on the baking sheet. Sprinkle salt and pepper over all the veggies and bake for 20-25 minutes. They should look caramelized and have turned a deep brown in spots. Pull them out and keep them aside until Step 7.
4. While the veggies are roasting, cook the quinoa: Add the quinoa, vegetable stock / water, and craisins to the same medium sized pot you used to toss the veggies with olive oil (no wastage here!). Bring this to a boil, and then lower the heat to a simmer, cover, and let cook for 12-15 minutes (until all the water is absorbed and you see little rings around the quinoa seeds).
5. While the quinoa is cooking, make the dressing: Whisk together the garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, salt, pepper, and mustard in a large bowl until it looks uniform and creamy.
6. When the quinoa is done cooking, add it to the bowl with the dressing and toss well. Taste the salt and pepper and adjust if needed.
7. Carefully cut the core out of the fennel and onion wedges. This will also help them fall apart into slices. Cut the roasted scallion whites into 1 inch long pieces. Toss the fennel, onion, and scallions with the quinoa and dressing.
8. Serve warm with a garnish of the chopped fennel fronds, sliced scallion greens, and sliced almonds!
