Quinoa Kale Casserole with Roasted Broccoli

Hey friends! I’ve got a comforting little dish for you, it’s perfect for these last few chilly days of winter. It’s not really what I’m craving here in sunny Las Vegas tho, I’d rather have some lemon sorbet than this cozy dish right about now! The show set-up went pretty well and all my coworkers arrive tomorrow – this next week will be super busy! I must say that I’m kinda looking forward to the busyness/distraction. These past few weeks, more like months, I’ve been all-consumed with political presidential primary stuff. I know, crazy, right?! I would’ve never believed you if you told me that one day I would have a candidate’s sign in my yard and sticker on my car. Heck, I’ve never even voted in a primary before this! I spent last weekend phone banking and as soon as I get back into town I will help get out the vote by canvassing with volunteers. Seriously, who am I? I think Mark is asking himself the same thing. North Carolina votes on March 15th so hopefully this whole volunteering thing won’t cut into my food blogging schedule too much! Ok, now back to this regularly scheduled recipe post! Casserole, also a first for me! It sounds grandma, it tastes delicious. This one is inspired from one of my favorite blogs, it’s packed with nutritious greens and it really is the best of both worlds – creamy quinoa together with the roasted veggies make a delicious meal the whole family will love!

Ingredients Quinoa Kale Casserole

2 cups vegetable broth

1 cup quinoa

1 large broccoli head

2 cups chopped kale

2 tablespoons olive oil

¾ teaspoon salt

1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese

1/2 cup grated parmesan

1 cup milk

1 tablespoon butter

1 clove garlic, pressed

2 slices whole wheat bread

a bit fresh ground pepper and/or pepper flakes if you like a little spice

Directions

Start by roasting the broccoli. Preheat your oven to 400F. Wash and chop the broccoli. The stalk gets surprisingly tender when roasted, just cut it up into little bite-size pieces. Place broccoli on baking sheet and toss to coat with two tablespoons of olive oil and a generous sprinkle of salt. Roast for 15 minutes, then add the chopped kale and roast for 5 more to wilt the greens. While the broccoli roasts cook the quinoa. Rinse the quinoa well first. In a medium sized pot bring the vegetable stock to a boil. Add the quinoa and reduce to a simmer. Cook uncovered for 17 to 20 minutes or until tender. Add the grated cheese, milk and salt (reserving 1/3rd cup cheese for the topping). Stir it well and cover while you prep the bread crumbs. Toast the bread first and then make the crumbs – you can either place the bread slices in your food processor to create crumbs or place it in a plastic bag covered with a dish down and crunch into crumbs with a mallet or meat tenderizer. Add the crumbs to a pan with the butter and pressed garlic. Toast until fragrant on medium heat – about 2 to 5 minutes. Finally assemble the casserole. In a large baking dish mix together the greens with the cheesy quinoa. Top with the remaining cheese and breadcrumbs and bake uncovered at 350F until cheese is melted on the top – about 20 to 25 minutes.

Notes