quinoa with pan-roasted artichokes, lemon and parsley
There are some vegetables that just taste better roasted. Don’t you agree? Think cauliflower roasted with herbs, or asparagus roasted until perfection. Jon loves to make fun of me saying that I roast my vegetables when I’m not inspired, but the truth is that I find that this type of cooking process gives them a smokey flavor like no other while enhancing their texture. Artichokes are one of those vegetables that are incredibly delicious when roasted or grilled, and ever since I spotted these crispy frizzled artichokes on Smitten Kitchen, I knew I had to cook something soon with these versatile edible flower buds (yes, artichokes are flowers that haven’t bloomed yet!).
You can roast your artichokes in the oven for this recipe, but I decided to reduce the cooking time by roasting them in a pan on my stovetop. With the weather still being abnormally hot here in Geneva, standing in my kitchen for an hour with the oven blasting is definitely not the best thing to do. Pan-roasting artichoke hearts in a bit of olive oil still gives them a smokey flavor while giving you full control on how grilled you want them to be. All you’ll need to do is turn them around from time to time to make sure they roast evenly, and after 10 minutes, they’ll be ready to go.
Although roasted artichokes are unbelievable as is, wait until you add them to quinoa and mix them with lemon zest, lemon juice, thyme, parsley and green onion. The idea struck me when I stumbled upon a recipe on Cooking Light, calling for mixing all those ingredients together. As I can’t get enough of zesty salads, I knew I had to give it a try. The result literally blew me away from the very first bite. How did I live all these years without this dish? Even Jon — who isn’t as crazy about roasted vegetables as I am — fell in love, asking me why hadn’t I made this side dish sooner. I guess I can go back to roasting vegetables as much as I want!
- 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 2 green onions, white part diced
- ¼ teaspoon dried thyme
- 800g can of artichoke hearts, drained, rinsed and sliced in half
- 1 cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed
- 2 cups water
- Salt to taste
- 1 cup (20g) fresh parsley, chopped
- Zest of one lemon
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- Black pepper to taste
- Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a small saucepan on medium heat. Sauté the green onion with the thyme for 5 minutes until translucent. Add the quinoa, water and salt, cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and let simmer for 15-20 minutes until the quinoa is cooked through. Set aside.
- Meanwhile, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. When smoking hot, add the sliced artichoke hearts and roast them, turning occasionally, for about 7 minutes until grilled on all sides. Set aside.
- Combine quinoa and artichokes in a bowl. Mix in parsley, lemon zest and lemon juice. Adjust seasoning with more salt if needed and some black pepper. Serve warm or at room temperature, drizzled with a bit of olive oil and some extra parsley leaves.
How did your quinoa with pan-roasted artichokes lemon and parsley come out? Share photos of your recipe on Instagram with the hashtag #savormania