Quinoa with Broccoli, Avocado and Feta

Ingredients

• 2 cups salted water
• 1 cup quinoa
• 1 large bunch broccoli, cut into small florets and stems (peel if needed), 5 cups
• 1 clove garlic, pressed (pressing isn’t necessary if your blender or food processor works well, but I always seem to be left with a surprising jolt of garlic chunk if I don’t cut it up first)
• 1/2 cup sliced or slivered almonds, toasted
• Juice of 1/2 small lemon
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 ripe avocado, cubed
• 1/4 cup crumbled feta

Directions

Bring the water to a boil in a large pot. Add the quinoa, cover, and lower the heat until it’s just high enough to maintain a simmer. Cook for 15 minutes, then turn off the heat, and add the broccoli and stems, and re-cover and allow to steam for 5 minutes. The broccoli should turn bright green and become just barely tender.

When everything has cooked, scoop the broccoli stems into a food processor or blender, and tip the remaining broccoli and quinoa into a serving bowl (if you don’t want to fuss picking out the stems from tops, you can just take half the broccoli and not worry about which is which, but I find that going for just stems in the pesto isn’t too much of a bother). Add the garlic, half of the almonds, the lemon juice and the oil into the processor, and pulse until a fairly smooth pesto is formed. Add salt and pepper to taste – if you’re using feta, you won’t need as much salt, but keep in mind that the pesto will be spread throughout the quinoa. Tip the pesto onto the quinoa, and toss to coat evenly. Top with the avocado, feta, and remaining almonds, and serve.