Quinoa and Black Bean Casserole

Quinoa is a staple in my house. I was initially introduced to quinoa  in a salad and I didn't think much of it. It gave a little texture to the dish but didn't add too much in terms of taste. So that was that for me. I put the little  bag of Quinoa at the back of my pantry and forgot all about it.

A few months later, I went to my cousin's house for Golu :). And dinner. Arvind and I had a lovely time catching up with them and eventually the conversation turned (as it so often does these days) to healthy food. They told us, to my utter shock and surprise, that they had replaced their daily rice consumption with Quinoa. As in Quinoa+Sambar, Quinoa+Rasam etc. I had a little taste at their house and I liked it. I came home, fished out the little baggy from the back of my pantry and set forth making Sambar and Quinoa for lunch the next day. Thus began my intense love affair with this beautiful grain.

Quinoa (pronounced keen-wah) is grown primarily in Peru so we had some lovely local quinoa dishes when we were there. This is us looking proud as hell at Machu Pichu :) :)

Now, on to the dish. This is actually the first dish I ever made with my own recipe. I did this in an attempt to make something different with quinoa which seems to have so many possibilities. This has become such a staple in my house that it didn't ever occur to me to post it until recently :)

It basically needs some quinoa, cooked black beans, onions and some veggies to get it started. Saute the Onions, Veggies and cooked beans with some spices. Add the quinoa.

Assemble this mixture in a baking pan and top with some cheese.

Bake for about 15 minutes at 350F and serve topped with Greek yogurt.

Delicious! :D

Ingredients:

1 cup cooked quinoa

1 cup cooked black beans

1 onion - chopped

1/2 red pepper - seeded and chopped

1/2 green pepper - seeded and chopped

1 jalapeno - seeded and chopped

1/2 cup frozen corn
2 tsp cumin
4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
4 tsp oregano
1.5 tbsp lime juice
2.5 tbsp red chili sauce
1/2 cup shredded cheddar or mozzarella cheese
2 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

This recipe serves 2

1. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil and saute the onion with some salt and pepper for about 2 minutes, until transparent. Add the chopped peppers, corn and jalapeno and saute for another 5 minutes, until slightly cooked.
2. Mash the cooked black beans with a little water and add to the veggies. Add the cumin, red pepper flakes, oregano lime juice and red chilli sauce. Adjust all the spices as needed according to your taste. Saute for about 3-5 minutes until the mixture combines,
3. Add the quinoa to the pan. Sprinkle a little water if this looks too dry. Mix well and taste to adjust the salt as needed. Add the remaining 1 tbsp olive oil and mix until well combined
4. Assemble the mixture in a baking pan. Top with shredded cheese and bake for about 15 minutes at 350F until the cheese melts
5. Top with a dollop of Greek yogurt or sour cream and enjoy!