Quinoa is a staple in our house, we absolutely love it.  If I had to guess I would say we eat it, in one form or another, 4 times per week.

Not only is quinoa super healthy and delicious, it is extremely versatile.  It is a no-brainer to have it as a side dish, plain or adding some toasted pine nuts to it.  But I have started preparing it as a main meal, a one pot dish, if you will.

One of our favorite ways to eat quinoa is with chicken and zucchini.  Awhile back I posted a recipe for it with couscous but rarely ever make it with couscous – it’s always with quinoa now.  Since we love it so much I set out to create another dish in the same vain.  And this is what I came up with…Mediterranean Quinoa!  I pretty much just grabbed that name out of the clear blue, so clever isn’t it?  Well…the ingredients I chose for this dish remind me of the mediterranean, probably a blend of Italy (sun dried tomatoes) and Greece (kalamata olives).  I think it’s a lovely combination as does my husband.  He boldly stated that this dish is now his favorite, pushing the chicken and zucchini quinoa into second place!   He really loves artichoke hearts, so I suppose this news should not be all that shocking to me.

This quinoa is perfect as a lunch or a light dinner and it keeps well in the fridge for a few days.   The flavors of this dish blend very well together and it is a snap to put together.  I hope you think so as well.

Here’s what you will need to serve 3-4 as a lunch…

Recipe

1 cup quinoa, cooked in chicken stock or water (I prefer chicken stock)

1 medium onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1/2 cup marinated sun dried tomatoes, chopped

1 9-oz bag frozen artichoke hearts

1/4 cup kalamata olives, pits removed, roughly chopped

1 lemon, zested and juiced

1/2 cup parsley

2 pinches dried oregano

2-3 thin chicken breasts, cut into one inch cubes

Method

Cook quinoa according to package, using chicken stock or water.  Set aside.

In a large saute pan heat 2 tablespoons of oil (I use the sun dried tomato oil).  Add cubed chicken and sprinkle with oregano.  Cook for approximately 5-7 minutes or until lightly browned, stirring occasionally.  Push chicken to the side of the pan to make room for the onions.  Saute for 4-5 minutes until softened.  Add the garlic.  Push the onion mixture to the side to make more room and add the artichoke hearts.  No need to defrost them, just toss them into the hot pan.  After 3 minutes combine the artichokes with the onion mixture and the chicken, mixing everything together.  Lower the heat.

To this mixture add the sun dried tomatoes, olives and lemon zest.  Stir to combine.  Turn off the heat and add the parsley and lemon juice.  Finally, add the cooked quinoa to the chicken mixture and stir well to incorporate all the ingredients and flavors.