Quinoa with Roasted Radishes and Pearl Onions

Sometimes I get carried away with combining ingredients when I should just keep it simple. After reading in Saveur about roasting radishes, I ran right out and bought some. And then I thought, why not roast some pearl onions and garlic along with them? If I'd stopped right there, I probably would have been more satisfied with the results, but instead I had to think, "How can I make this heartier?" and then answer myself with the word "quinoa." Thus, a less than perfect dish was born.

To be fair, my husband loved this, though I'm beginning to suspect that he is just easily pleased. E and I each had a serving and didn't absolutely detest it but weren't crowding around the pot for seconds, either. As I type this, I'm eating bites of the leftovers between sentences, and there's really nothing wrong with it, but it just doesn't inspire me to poetry. It's sad because I love quinoa, roasted garlic, roasted onions, and, I now know, roasted radishes, but all together--meh. I expected more.

Still, don't let my failure to achieve a deep emotional connection with this dish prevent you from trying the best new-to-me idea to come out of it: roasted radishes. When you roast radishes, they soften, become slightly sweet, and lose their spicy bite; I can imagine sprinkling them with seasonings and eating them as a snack--a healthy snack, since these root veggies contain only 64 calories per pound. And that's no small potatoes!



Quinoa with Roasted Radishes and Pearl Onions
(printer-friendly version)

Serve this alongside a bean dish and salad or a vegetable, or turn it into a main dish by adding cooked beans or a little vegan sausage.

6-8 ounces pearl onions
olive oil spray
12-16 ounces radishes (weighed without greens)
1 head garlic
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
1 cup quinoa
2 cups vegetable broth
1 teaspoon dried oregano
freshly ground pepper
chopped parsley, to garnish

Place the onions in a bowl and cover them with boiling water. Allow them to sit for 5 minutes; drain. Slice off the tops and peel.

Preheat oven to 400 F and spray a baking pan lightly with olive oil. Remove the tops of the radishes (save, if they're fresh) and trim off the tails. Slice any larger radishes in half, keep the smaller ones whole, and place them all in the baking pan. Add the prepared pearl onions. Spray lightly (1 second) with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Peel off the very outermost layers of the garlic. Use a sharp knife to cut about 1/2-inch off the top of the bulb, exposing the tops of the cloves. Wrap in aluminum foil, and place it in a corner of the baking pan. Put the pan in the oven and roast, stirring every 10 minutes, until a fork easily pierces a radish, about 30 minutes. Remove the garlic and set aside to cool. Toss radishes and onions with 1 teaspoon of vinegar and set aside until quinoa is done.

While the vegetables are roasting, rinse the quinoa well. Place it in a medium-sized sauce pan and add the vegetable broth, oregano, and freshly ground pepper to taste. If you like, chop a handful or two of the radish greens (well washed) and add them to the pan. Bring to a boil, cover tightly, and reduce to a simmer. Cook until all water is absorbed, about 20 minutes.

When both quinoa and vegetables are done, add the vegetables to the quinoa. Squeeze as many as you like of the cloves from the garlic and mash them lightly. Add the garlic to the quinoa along with salt, pepper, and additional vinegar to taste. Serve warm, garnished with chopped parsley.

Servings: 6

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Nutrition Facts

Nutrition (per serving): 142 calories, 19 calories from fat, 2.1g total fat, 0mg cholesterol, 243.2mg sodium, 382.9mg potassium, 26g carbohydrates, 3.6g fiber, 1.2g sugar, 5.6g protein, 2.3 points.

Though MyPoints are calculated using a formula similar to Weight Watchers Points ^TM, this site has no affiliation with Weight Watchers and does not guarantee the accuracy of this information.

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Other Bloggers Roast Radishes:

Roasted Radishes Recipe with Soy Sauce and Toasted Sesame Seed at Kalyn's Kitchen
Reconsidering the Radish from The Conscious Kitchen
Roasted Radishes with Lime-Cilantro Vinaigrette by The Arugula Files

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Other Recipes You May Enjoy:

Quinoa Vegetable Paella

Pink Bean-Quinoa Soup

Spring Green Quinoa