A common Russian meal served during the Maslenitsa holiday is blinchiki, also known as blini. There are numerous options for both sweet and savory fillings. If the first few don’t work out, don’t worry; you’ll get the feel of it.
| Prep Time: | 25 mins |
| Cook Time: | 35 mins |
| Total Time: | 1 hr |
| Servings: | 4 |
| Yield: | 4 servings |
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil, or more if needed
- 1 sweet onion (such as Vidalia®), chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced, or to taste
- 1 cup quinoa, rinsed
- 1 ¼ cups vegetable broth
- 1 small zucchini, chopped
- 1 cup mushrooms, sliced
- 2 stalks celery, chopped
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 1 cup baby spinach leaves
- 1 (15 ounce) can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat; cook and stir the onion until translucent, about 5 minutes, then stir in garlic and quinoa. Reduce heat to medium-low; cook and stir the mixture until the quinoa becomes light brown in color and has a toasted fragrance, 5 to 7 minutes. Slowly pour in the stock, stirring constantly. Bring the mixture back to a boil over medium heat, and stir in the zucchini, mushrooms, and celery; season to taste with salt and black pepper. Reduce heat to medium-low, and allow the mixture to simmer, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender, about 15 minutes. Stir in the baby spinach and garbanzo beans, and simmer until quinoa is tender, 10 to 15 more minutes.
Reviews
Left out beans, added 1/4 cup sliced green olives.
I am new to cooking quinoa, This was really easy and quick. We added turmeric and a little curry. Thanks for sharing. One question …do you cook covered like rice? I did not as it was not stated…and then needed more stock. Love that it was not bitter like quinoa was when cooked plain.
Crystal, I thought the recipe was really terrific. I had a great lift workout this afternoon & then ran a couple miles and was hungry for a quinoa dish and I found yours. I followed the recipe, except I substituted a can of French Onion soup+H2O for the veggie stock & broccoli for the zucchini and, as I always do, spiced it up more. I added several tsps of minced garlic, pinch of tarragon & marjoram, tbsp of curry, sprinkle celery salt, tbsp of dill weed and ground black pepper to taste. My girlfriend & 12 yr old daughter loved it!!
As some other reviewers mentioned, this is a great base recipe. I loved the way the quinoa cooked and the garbanzo beans were a great addition. However, I did end up adding quite a bit (and left out the mushrooms), including cherry tomatoes, red bell peppers, green onions, broccoli, garlic salt, red pepper flakes, and dried basil. We ate it with falafel, which made an awesome dinner!
I’ve made this dish several times – as suggested and also customized. All worked well. I usually put a bit more broth in than the recipe calls for though.
This was okay, pretty bland even after adding basil and parsley. The only thing I could taste really well was the celery, and I’m not a huge fan of it. Next time I’m going to omit it.
I liked this combination. I cooked the onion, garlic, quinoa, and broth together separate from the other veggies and sautéed the rest in a pan over medium heat. Then added the fresh spinach, chickpeas, salt, dash of red pepper, and a splash of soy sauce.
I omitted the mushrooms because I don’t care for them, and followed the advice of another reviewer and let the quinoa cook about half way before adding the veggies to avoid over-cooking. Also, waited until the end to add the spinach. I added some halved cherry tomatoes and a dash of cumin as well for a little more color and flavor. Excellent recipe!
I liked it, added a little bit more broth
Felt this needed more flavor for our family, so I added a can of diced tomatoes and served it with hot sauce and parmesan cheese. Also doubled the spinach and omitted the zucchini, since I didn’t have any. Would be good with most vegetables, and will try it next time with asparagus.
The nicest thing about this recipe is how easy it is to customize to your personal taste. I didn’t have all the suggested vegetables on hand so I used what I did have. I like a plate to have color so I replaced the zucchini with red pepper (I also happened to be out of zucchini) and I replaced the garbanzos with toasted almonds. I think toasting the quinoa was an inspired idea, it really gives it a nice flavor. Thanks Crystal
I made this for a quick dinner tonight, by altering the directions a little. I started the quinoa by itself in a pan. In a frying pan, I cooked the veggies in a little olive oil, added the seasonings, and then the garbanzo beans for a few minutes, followed by the spinach (which I chopped up a little first). I also stirred in some sauteed chicken thigh pieces. When it was all tender, I stirred it all into the cooked quinoa. I drizzled a little lemon juice on top. It was pretty good! My kids all liked it too.
I added more quinoa to this then was designated because it seemed as if it was all vegetables with just a dash of quinoa. I also added some soy sauce, salt and garlic powder because it didn’t seem to have much flavor. Unfortunately I think I over did it with the salt and now it’s too salty.
This was great because it’s the perfect dish to add your own take to. I added a tbsp of cumin and a tsp of turmeric for extra flavor and it was fantastic. I also didn’t bother to run to the store for mushrooms, but I didn’t miss them. If you want to add more liquid this can be whisked into a soup.
I thought this was a wonderful way to fix quinoa! It’s a soothing hot dish and was a great way to use up my excess spinach. I didn’t measure any of the veggies, but I probably put in 4 cups of spinach!! Thanks for sharing the recipe 😀
This recipe worked great. We added basil and parsley along with salt and pepper since some of the reviews said this was bland–worked great!
Love this recipe. This has become a staple for us. We have been eating quinoa for many years, and this recipe was a nice variation.
I could really tell that this was a recipe thrown together with ingredients left in the fridge rather than a real study of what would go together well. There was not much flavor. We didn’t love it. If you do make it, add LOTS more spinach for extra nutrients and flavor. More veggies in general would be good.
This was a good base recipe but the cooking times are very off in my opinion. I hate overcooked veggies. I would make the following changes. Cut down to 1 C of broth, the veggies create a lot of juices which were not completely absorbed by the time the quinoa was done. Let the quinoa simmer for 10 – 15 minutes before adding your mushrooms, zucchini, etc. I would also add the garbanzos at this time. I like adding a cup of quartered cherry tomatoes as well. Simmer for about 5 more minutes. Increase spinach to 3 or 4 cups and add at the end of cooking. The spinach will wilt from the heat of the dish. Adding a few shakes of crushed red pepper adds a nice little bit of heat too.
easy and delicious. food like this could turn anyone into a vegetarian 🙂
Absolutely wonderful. Followed the recipe as written. YUM!!