Chickpea Quinoa Pilaf from Veganomicon

One of my favorite go-to cookbooks is Veganomicon: The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero. I love quinoa both for its health benefits and the taste, so I'm always looking for new quinoa recipes.  I found this recipe printed in the Veganomicon cookbook and I found it was pretty easy to make and quite delicious. I'm also a fan of chickpeas and spices like cumin and coriander - this recipe includes all of the above!  I also deviated from the original recipe by adding some diced yellow pepper, increasing the amount of garlic (Paul and I can't seem to get enough garlic!), and adding a bit of cayenne to spice it up.  You could probably add some other veggies of your choice as well.

INGREDIENTS

2 tbsp olive oil

1 small yellow onion, chopped finely (about one cup)

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1 tbsp coriander seed, crushed with a mortar & pestle

fresh ground pepper, to taste

1/2 tsp salt

1 tbsp tomato paste

1 cup quinoa, rinsed

1-15oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

2 cups vegetable broth

DIRECTIONS

1.  In a saucepan over medium heat, saute the onions in olive oil for 7 minutes.  Add the garlic and saute for 2 more minutes.

2.  Add the tomato paste, coriander, cumin, black pepper and salt; saute for 1 minute.

3.  Add the quinoa and saute for 2 minutes.

4.  Add the chickpeas and the broth; cover and bring to a boil.  Once the mixture is boiling, lower the heat to very low, cover, and cook for 18 minutes or until the quinoa has absorbed all the water.  Stir occasionally.

5.  Fluff with a fork and serve.