Creamy kale and chickpeas with cashew sauce goes perfectly with this easy, colorful quinoa.
My daughter E graduated from middle school on Monday, so she’s officially a high schooler now. Yes, a high schooler. Those of you who picture her as she appeared in her first photo on this blog can perhaps appreciate how strange it feels to look at her and see both that nine-year-old girl and the beautiful, smart young woman that she’s becoming. Makes a mom feel proud. And old!
Anyway. Now that school’s out, summer is here in every way that really matters. After all the pre-graduation craziness of dress-buying and shoe-buying and house cleaning for house guests, I just wanted to rest my brain this week and not stress over posting a new recipe.
But wouldn’t you know it, last night I cooked two dishes that I’ve never written about before, so I felt obligated to give them their photo op and jot down their recipes so that I could share them with you. Both taste great on their own but somehow work even better together.
You can serve the Cosmic Cashew Kale and Chickpeas over rice or some other grain, but when Confetti Quinoa is so easy to make, you really ought to give it a try.
Cosmic Cashew Kale and Chickpeas
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup raw cashews
- 1/2 cup hot water
- 3/4 cup water
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon vegetable bouillon or broth powder
- 1 large onion diced
- 1/2 red bell pepper diced
- 1 clove garlic minced or pressed
- 1 1/2 cups chickpeas (or one 15-ounce can, rinsed and drained)
- 1 bunch kale central stems removed and leaves thinly sliced
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- Salt to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper to taste
- Hot sauce to taste
- 2-4 tablespoons fresh basil minced
Instructions
- Soak the cashews for an hour in hot water or overnight in room-temperature water. Drain. Place them in a blender and add 3/4 cup water, 1 clove garlic, and 1 teaspoon of broth powder (or 1 bouillon cube). Blend at highest speed until completely smooth. Set aside until needed.
- In a large non-stick skillet, cook the onion until it begins to brown, about 5-7 minutes. Add the red bell pepper and garlic, and cook for another minute. Add the chickpeas, kale, and two tablespoons water. Cover immediately and reduce heat to medium. Cook, stirring often, until kale is tender, about 5 minutes.
- Add the reserved cashew sauce, oregano, and salt, black pepper, and hot sauce to taste. Cook, stirring, until sauce thickens. If sauce becomes too thick, add a little water to thin. Add the fresh basil just before serving over Confetti Quinoa.
Nutritional info is approximate.
Confetti Quinoa is an extremely easy side dish that complements just about any type of food. Use it instead of rice with bean dishes, tofu, or seitan.
Confetti Quinoa
Ingredients
- 1 cup quinoa , rinsed very well
- 1 clove garlic , minced or pressed
- 2 cups hot vegetable broth
- 1/4 red bell pepper , finely chopped
- 2 green onions , green parts only, thinly sliced
Instructions
- In a medium-sized saucepan, toast the damp quinoa for a few minutes until it begins to dry out. Add all remaining ingredients EXCEPT the green onions, cover, and cook on low until all the liquid is absorbed and quinoa is fluffy. Stir in the green onions and serve hot.
Nutritional info is approximate.
Please Pin and share!
Jennifer Peters
July 8, 2012 at 7:54 pmI just made this for dinner and wanted to tell you how much I enjoyed it! I made it for my boyfriend and I and he had two heaping plates full! Thanks so much:) Can’t wait to make it again!
Elana
July 12, 2012 at 6:02 pmhow many cups is a bunch of kale?
Caity @ Moi Contre La Vie
November 27, 2012 at 6:55 pmYum Yum Yum! I love quinoa and kale mixed together, thanks for the great recipe idea!!!
Caity @ Moi Contre La Vie
June 13, 2013 at 9:17 amHad to include this is my weekly round-up of great links – Links You’ll Love
http://moicontrelavie.com/2013/06/09/links-youll-love-72/
Keep up the GREAT work!
Sue baker
December 11, 2012 at 4:45 pmMy husband said, “Tell Susan this is another great recipe, I like it.’
Tina
March 5, 2013 at 3:39 pmYou have saved my vegan life. I am trying to follow Eat To Live, and have been having the most difficulty with eating cooked greens. Spinach I can handle, but I don’t like kale, mustard greens, collard greens, etc. I just finished a big plate of this cosmic cashew kale and confetti quinoa, and man was it good! I left out the chickpeas because I didn’t have any canned and I was too hungry to take the time to cook them myself. I realize this shouldn’t be a daily treat because of the fat in the cashew sauce, but it was so encouraging to actually enjoy a dish of greens. I have hope for my vegan future! Thanks!
lala
May 10, 2013 at 4:57 pmI’ve been lurking about your site for a few years now, using your awesome creativity for making some tasty dishes, but hands down, this is absolutely the best one yet. Last night was my first time cooking for a new beau, who eats meat (but was a vegetarian for 10 years, so I felt like I could make something that didn’t have a clearly defined protein, veg, & starch). It was fabulous! Thank you so much for the great recipe.
Jess
May 26, 2013 at 6:58 pmthanks Susan, this was really good! Made it for dinner tonight, and the hubbs added some hot sauce to his portion and we both enjoyed!
V
May 31, 2013 at 10:17 amSo amazing! The husband loved it and went back for thirds!
Andrea
June 15, 2013 at 5:45 pmI am eating this dish now for dinner and it is so tasty! This was my first time experimenting with soaked cashews to make a sauce. Everything is so fresh! I used whole wheat couscous instead of quinoa, since I just eat that yesterday. I will make again for sure!
Julie
July 8, 2013 at 11:52 pmThis recipe was CRAZY GOOD!!!!!!!!
That’s a lot of exclamation points – sorry! But really, it was delicious. I did add about 2 tbsp of lemon juice since I had it readily on hand. My husband and I both loved it, and he’s not usually satisfied by really healthy recipes.
Thanks for posting! This is entering the usual rotation for sure.
Paige
January 8, 2014 at 8:21 pmMade this for dinner tonight – WOW!! Loved it! There’s only one serving left (maybe one-and-a-half) and it was just me and my husband eating. I couldn’t stop! Thanks, Susan
AL
March 4, 2014 at 1:35 pmSusan, you really hit it out of the park with this one! Just finished a heaping bowl and yum, yum, yum! Also I wanted to tell you how much I love the Vulcan Fire Salt you suggested in another post
Esther J
June 15, 2014 at 7:35 pmMade this with polenta, instead of the quinoa. Creamy comfort in one bowl.
Delicious. thanks!
dayna
April 21, 2019 at 10:25 amThis is so delicious! I’ve made it several timesper the recipe, but last night I was feeling very lazy, so I used my Instant Pot. I sauteed the onions, garlic and peppers. I then added plain quinoa, water, chickpeas, kale and the cashew-garlic sauce (made per instructions in recipe). Cooked on manual for 3 minutes, and everything was perfect.
Darlene
May 20, 2019 at 9:31 amHoly cats was this ever good!!!! I did tweak it a bit. I added nutritional yeast to the sauce and changed chickpeas to white beans. The hot sauce is a must. It really perks up the flavor. My omni husband even said it’s a keeper!! We’re having the leftovers for lunch but will put it over polenta.
loveveg
June 1, 2020 at 1:00 pmI made this with extra herbs/spices and a little tamari to sub for my missing veggie broth. I bought basil but forgot to add it. Aaargh! It was still really good and I’ll make again! Thanks for another winner.
Aimee
October 29, 2023 at 4:09 pmLove this recipe! Can the non-quinoa part be frozen?