Quinoa, Zucchini and Toasted Walnut Pilaf
Prep time: 15 minutes
Total time: 15 minutes
Serves 4
Gluten-free and very high in protein, quinoa has a slightly nutty flavor—the perfect combination with toasted walnuts and zucchini.
Step-by-Step Photos
Quinoa, Zucchini and Toasted Walnut Pilaf
To a medium saucepan, add 1 cup quinoa.
Add 1 ½ cups water and bring to a boil.
Cover, reduce heat to low and cook until the water is absorbed and the quinoa is tender and fluffy, 12 to 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, wash 2 medium zucchini and trim off the stem ends.
Using the side of the grater with the largest holes, grate the zucchini at an angle. Discard when too small to grate safely.
Coarsely chop ½ cup walnuts. Hold the handle of the chef’s knife and place your other hand on top of the opposite end of the knife and rock back and forth.
Using your pairing knife, trim both ends of 1 clove garlic. Peel.
Thinly slice the garlic from the stem end to the opposite end.
Gently pull thyme leaves from the sprig in the opposite direction. You need 1 teaspoon of thyme leaves.
Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat.
Add the walnuts and cook, stirring, until toasted and fragrant, 2 to 3 minutes.
Add the garlic and cook until golden, 1 minute.
Add the zucchini.
Add the thyme.
Season with ½ teaspoon kosher salt.
Season with ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper (12 turns on pepper mill).
Cook, stirring, until just tender and wilted, 1 minute. Turn off the heat.
Add the cooked quinoa.
Stir until well combined.
Enjoy!
ingredients
- 1 cup
- quinoa
- 1 ½ cups
- water
- 2 tablespoons
- olive oil
- ½ cup
- walnuts, coarsely chopped
- 1 clove
- garlic, sliced
- 2
- medium zucchini, grated
- 1 teaspoon
- fresh thyme leaves
- ½ teaspoon
- kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon
- freshly ground black pepper
directions
In a medium saucepan, combine the quinoa and water and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to low and cook until the water is absorbed and the quinoa is tender and fluffy, 12 to 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, prepare and measure your ingredients as this next part goes quickly. Heat the oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the walnuts and cook, stirring, until toasted and fragrant, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until golden, 1 minute. Stir in the zucchini, thyme, salt and pepper (12 turns on pepper mill) and cook, stirring, until just tender and wilted, 1 minute. Remove from heat and stir in the quinoa until well combined.
helpful hints
- Don’t turn your back on the walnuts while they’re toasting, they can burn before you know it
- When in doubt, it’s best to undercook the grated zucchini to preserve its color and texture
- We tend to under salt, so after you’ve made this, be sure to double-check the seasoning is to your liking—you may want to add salt
tools needed
Medium saucepan with lid, measuring cups, measuring spoons, cutting board, box grater, paring knife, chef’s knife, medium skillet, wooden spoon
27 comments, add yours below
Laura on March 16, 2011 at 4:07PM wrote:
seriously, i love you! you’ve got me cooking and i’m loving it! love your style, too!
Doug B on March 17, 2011 at 11:21AM wrote:
What’s a box grateer? And what do you mean by coarsely chopped? Does that mean big pieces? I finding that reading recipes is like trying to decipher a secret code. Not easy for beginners.
Jessica on March 17, 2011 at 11:54AM wrote:
Hi, Doug. A box grater is a regular old grater with four sides. Use the side with the largest holes to grate the zucchini. For the walnuts, you want to have small (about 1/4- to 1/2-inch size) pieces. It does not have to be exact! You just don’t want to chop them finely so that they turn to dust. Follow the photos above to see steps in detail.
Marjorie on March 17, 2011 at 12:43PM wrote:
I’m loving pilafs these days and this one’s a winner! I’m not a walnut fan so I substituted pine nuts with great results. Next time I think I’ll try using tiny asparagus spears that are plentiful now for half the zucchini. But you do have to watch it closely and undercook the nuts at first or they’ll be burned by the time everything else is cooked.
Marganne Hoffman on March 18, 2011 at 10:11AM wrote:
Thanks for all these great recent posts! And judging by the comments you are getting people to cook - yay you!
tinytearoom on March 18, 2011 at 10:21PM wrote:
This would make a perfect side dish. I love the greenness. I am a recent convert to quinoa and have been looking for ways to incorporate it into my existing dishes. This is being bookmarked.
Anna Posner on March 20, 2011 at 9:41PM wrote:
Is it important to rinse the quinoa before cooking? i love quinoa but always make a mess trying to clean it!
Jessica on March 23, 2011 at 10:08AM wrote:
Yes, quinoa needs to be rinsed, but fortunately most brands today are well-rinsed prior to packaging. For the sake of convenience, it’s worth trying without rinsing first. If it’s bitter, you will have to go back to rinsing when using that brand.
Anna Posner on March 23, 2011 at 10:14AM wrote:
Thanks! Any tips for rinsing?
Jessica on March 23, 2011 at 3:19PM wrote:
Hi Anna, place the quinoa in a large bowl with 5 times the amount of cold water. Drain through a fine sieve, making sure no excess water remains. If you don’t have a fine sieve, a colander lined with cheesecloth will do the trick. But again, most packaged quinoa in the US has been thoroughly rinsed.
Anna Posner on March 23, 2011 at 7:47PM wrote:
thank you SO much. love your website! it’s literally teaching me how to cook!
Kristie on March 28, 2011 at 12:28PM wrote:
This was delicious! I had a full Jessica night and made it with your simple roast chicken and super fast spinach side. I am absolutely loving your website. Simple, pure, healthy ingredients. The videos and pictures are so so helpful. You have renewed my passion for cooking! From a new wife learning to cook for her husband, thank you Jessica!!
Erika on March 28, 2011 at 3:49PM wrote:
Hey—recently converted vegan here…thanks for another simple idea. (My 12 yr old son is watching an episode of his latest television find—Seinfeld right now. Hopefully, if I tell him from whom I rec’d this recipe, he’ll try it!) LOL
Pamela on April 1, 2011 at 6:26PM wrote:
Sedef, quinoa is (technically) a seed native to S. America. It cooks fast and is gluten-free, but lots of vegetarians like it because it contains all 8 essential amino acids, so it’s super high in protein, but it’s really light and bouncy. I make a big batch every week to toss into salads or soups or even as a breakfast porridge. Rinse it first!
Karen on May 24, 2011 at 6:33AM wrote:
Sprinkled a little feta on this and even my junk foodie husband gobbled it up! Thank you!
Rose F. on May 31, 2011 at 4:11PM wrote:
I agree that there is nothing better than fresh herbs, but sometimes I don’t have on hand after I’ve started a dish. Can you recommend measuring substitutes for dried herbs? i.e. for the Quinoa & Zucchini and the Chicken under a brick?
Thank you.
Erika on June 1, 2011 at 10:14AM wrote:
Hi Rose. I believe dried herbs are more potent, so perhaps a little less. ?? Of course, Google is a beautiful thing, you may want to give that a shot. LoL
Ann on June 2, 2011 at 10:06PM wrote:
I made this last week and served it with Turkey meatloaf. It was delicious! I didn’t have fresh thyme so I used about 1/2 t. dried but added some fresh chopped parsley that I had in the fridge. I also added chicken broth in place of the water and changed the ration of liquid to quinoa to 2:1 I’ve been on a quinoa kick latey. Thank you!
Nancy Lunn on September 23, 2011 at 10:15AM wrote:
I am an advanced gourmet cook but I like your idead about food as I always try to eat healthy.
Always looking for more ways to use Quinoa.
I just added some to my zucchini bread its a little mushy in the center but delish and healthier with the addition.
I’ve gotten to tossing it in to many things lately as I keep a pot of it in my fridge ready to eat or add to.
I have added it to my morning shake/smoothie along with some left over avacado.
Ingrid on September 23, 2011 at 3:15PM wrote:
I just saw you on Anderson Coopers show. my twin brother and I both love to cook and bake. My 7 yr. Old nephew hates veggies. I don’t see any desserts on your web site. ( he’ ll eat anything with chocolate) would love recipe for spinach puree brownies. Please? :-)
Charlotte Ferreux on October 5, 2011 at 10:54PM wrote:
I love this recipe and blog…I posted it on my community foodie blog. Hope you can come check it out http://www.facebook.com/thefrenchiefoodie
Also, feel free to post you’re recipes or you’re favourite foodie tips on it whenever you like!
GlutenFreeFind on October 8, 2011 at 9:56PM wrote:
What a delicious recipe - thank you for sharing it!
GlutenFreeFind on October 8, 2011 at 9:57PM wrote:
What a delicious recipe - thank you for sharing it!
-GlutenFreeFind.com
April on November 29, 2011 at 11:20PM wrote:
I didn’t really like this dish. The walnuts burned while tossing in the zuccini to cook. Combining the black pepper and thyme with this dish did not help the taste, either.
Lola on January 9, 2012 at 6:03PM wrote:
What could you use in place of walnuts? I’m really not a fan of them but don’t want to change the recipe too much. Has anyone tried it without the nuts?
Thanks for the recipe it looks delicious.
Lola
