Okay hold up. I know I’m throwing both kale and quinoa at you at once, but promise it’s worth it. This is such an easy, colorful side dish and you’ll totally feel like a health rockstar for making it.
Fifteen minutes on the stove and you’ve got a side dish or warm salad for two – this has become my go-to alongside chicken or fish (topped with sun-dried tomato cream sauce!) for weeknights. It’s nothing fancy, but the tangy garlic-ginger-sesame oil keeps it interesting and the quinoa is super filling.
The garlic-ginger combo is one of my favorite flavors; I always have garlic in the cupboard and ginger in the fridge. You can grate them both in seconds using a microplane zester
Fresh ginger root can be kept for quite a long time in the fridge. Just place the unpeeled root in a plastic bag, press all the air out, and store in the vegetable drawer. Once you begin using it, cover the cut end with a damp paper towel before sealing it in the bag – the moisture will keep it from drying out.
I love cooking grains in anything but water to give them some extra flavor! I had a good amount of white cooking wine in the fridge (okay, actually, I had a not-great bottle of wine that was demoted to cooking wine) so I used that up and it went wonderfully with tilapia. If you’re serving with chicken, use broth instead of water.
Garlic Ginger Kale Quinoa
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup white wine or chicken stock
- 1/3 cup quinoa
- 1 T. olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 T. fresh ginger grated
- 3 cups kale shredded
- dash red pepper flakes (optional)
- salt to taste
- 1/2 t. sesame oil
Instructions
- Bring white wine and quinoa to a boil in a small pot, then cover and reduce to a simmer. Cook for 15 minutes or until tender.
- While quinoa is cooking, heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Saute garlic and ginger for a minute, then add shredded kale.
- Cook until kale is wilted and tender, then season with red pepper flakes and salt. Remove skillet from heat.
- Toss kale with cooked quinoa and sesame oil and serve warm.
This post contains affiliate links for products I use & love, meaning I receive a small percentage if you click & buy – it doesn’t affect your purchase price and helps this blog keep cooking. Thanks!
Leave a Reply