Quinoa & Broccoli Casserole

I survived another Meatless Monday thanks to this cheesy concoction...

Recipe

3/4 c quinoa
2 green onions
1 c vegetable stock
1 tbsp pesto
1/2 tsp cornstarch
1 c spinach
8 oz mozzarella cheese, cubed
1/4 c Parmesan cheese, grated
8 oz broccoli florets
salt & pepper

Preheat oven to 400.  Whisk together your stock, pesto, cornstarch, and some salt, and bring to a boil.  Combine the quinoa, green onion, liquids, spinach, and most of the cheese in a baking dish and pop in the oven for about 30 minutes.  Toward the end, steam (or microwave) your broccoli, then mix it into the casserole and sprinkle the last of the cheese on top.  Cook another 5 minutes, and pop under the broiler for a couple if you want to brown it up.

Notes

As with most recipes, I went in expecting to halve everything, but as I was measuring out the quinoa that looked like an awful lot so I about quartered it instead.  You don't have to balance things too closely - I added lots of spinach and definitely went heavy on the cheese.  The cheese did kind of take things over - deliciously melty, especially in comparison to the crisper grains - but you can dial it down to make it healthier or whatever.  Very tasty but not quite as filling as I hoped... so pretty good for your typical vegetarian dish...

Caldo Verde

It wasn't pretty, apparently - not even a shot on goal until extra time ?! - but Portugal beat Croatia to move on in Euro 2016.  My sympathies may have been more with the Croats, but it still felt like an appropriate occasion to try out a new Portuguese recipe from ATK:

Recipe

1/2 lb chorizo, cut into 1/2" pieces
1/2 onion, chopped fine
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 lb potatoes, peeled and cut into 3/4" pieces
2 c broth
2 c water
1/2 lb collard greens, chopped
1 tsp vinegar
olive oil, red pepper flakes, salt & pepper

Lightly brown the chorizo in some olive oil, then set aside.  Next, cook the onion, garlic, red pepper, salt & pepper for a few minutes, then add the potatoes, broth, and water.  Bring to a boil, then simmer until the potatoes are tender.

Blend about 1/2 c solids and 1/2 c broth.  In your pot, add the collard greens and simmer about 10 minutes; re0add the chorizo and give it another 10.

Add a couple tbsp olive oil to the blender and process until smooth.  Stir into the soup with vinegar, and serve!

Notes

This actually turned out pretty similar to an old favorite: stewed collards and chorizo.  In a large part, it was because of my lack of a blender - I just mashed the potatoes at about that point of the recipe.  I also used ground chorizo instead of hard sausage - wonder how much of a difference that might make...  Texture aside, caldo verde adds potatoes for a bit more heartiness, but doesn't help the broth quite as much.  It made a couple solid dinners, but writing this, it's pretty clear I need to try again closer to the authentic recipe...