Persian Style Red Quinoa

There's something incredibly sexy about Persian food. I liken it to a beautiful exotic woman who walks past you... she takes you by surprise and her sultry perfume lingers after she walks away, leaving you feeling both romantic and ethereal after she's gone...

When I ordered my first dish at a Persian restaurant, I was taken aback by the bright colors and then the aromas of all the spices hit me like a one-two punch. the food was spicy and aromatic without being heavy - delivering just the right amount of comfort without the guilt that usually follows a restaurant meal.

Persian cuisine is very flavorful and easily recognizable by the commonly used ingredients like mint, cinnamon, cardamom, cumin, pistachios, almonds, sumac, raisins, dates, saffron, and fresh herbs. This is a recipe inspired by my desire to treat my body better through eating more wholesome and nutritional foods. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup red quinoa
• 1 1/2 cup chicken broth
• salt (to taste)
• cracked black pepper (to taste)
• 1 shallot (finely chopped)
• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley leaves
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint leaves
• 1/4 cup chopped raw, unsalted pistachios
• 2 Tb shredded carrots
• 1 Tb olive oil
• 1 1/2 Tb organic raisins
• a dash of cinnamon powder

Directions:

• Put your chicken broth in a small saucepan on low heat. 
• In a medium saucepan, add the olive oil, the chopped shallots, salt (I used about 1/4 tsp French gray sea salt), and cracked back pepper to taste. Cook on medium heat, stirring occasionally, for about five minutes until the shallots are tender. Watch the shallots carefully so that they don't burn since they caramelize faster than regular onions.
• Add the quinoa to toast in the pan, stirring frequently for about 5 minutes until they start to smell a little nutty. 
• Add the chicken broth and bring to a boil. Then cover the pan and simmer on low heat for 25 minutes.
• While it cooks, Wash, pat dry (with a paper towel), and chop your parsley and mint. Put them in a small bowl with the chopped carrots. 
• Chop your pistachios and put them in a separate bowl.

• After 25 minutes, remove the lid, fluff the quinoa with a fork, and cook uncovered on medium heat for 5 minutes.

• Stir in the parsley, mint, shredded carrots, raisins, and pistachios
• Sprinkle a dash of cinnamon powder and mix it in.
• Enjoy! (I cooked Afghan-spiced chicken breast to go with this... recipe for another post!)