I am always looking for new and fun things to do with quinoa. If you don’t already know, quinoa is one of the world’s super foods. Although most people think it’s a whole grain, it’s actually a seed and provides all 9 essential amino acids (making it a complete protein). There are lots of things you can do with this wonder seed, but one of my favorites is stuffing it inside of a tomato!
This recipe is great, even for those who have never tried quinoa or think they don’t like it.
Cut the tops of the tomatoes off and remove them. This will be the base of your dish.
Hollowed out Tomato
Photo Credit: Mary Cokenour
I hope you enjoy this recipe! It’s one of my favorites and I will be excited to hear about what you think!
Recipe: Quinoa Stuffed Tomatoes w/ Goat Cheese
This recipe is great, even for those who have never tried quinoa or think they don’t like it.
Prep Time15 mins
Cook Time25 mins
Total Time40 mins
Servings: 3
Ingredients
- 3 Large Tomatoes
- 1/4 cup Quinoa
- 1/2 cup Liquid either water or tomato juice from actual tomatoes
- 1/2 tbsp Olive Oil
- 1 clove Garlic crushed
- 1 tbsp Parmesan grated
- 3 tbsp Goat Cheese
- Salt & Pepper to taste
Instructions
- Cut the tops of the tomatoes off and remove them. Take a small knife and cut around the inside edges and remove the inner core/seeds from the tomato with a spoon. Make sure to leave the walls of the tomato intact. Set the tomato core/seeds aside in a separate bowl (you will need these).
- Take the seeds/core of the tomato that you reserved and put it through a wire mesh strainer. This will get you the 1 cup of liquid you need to cook the quinoa. If you don’t get a full cup, add water to top it off.
- Pour the tomato liquid/water mixture into a sauce pan and add crushed garlic.
- In the same wire mesh strainer, rinse quinoa under cold water for a couple of minutes and add to pot.
- Bring the quinoa to a boil and reduce the heat to medium/low. Cover the pan and let the quinoa cook for about 20 minutes (you will know it is done when all of the liquid is gone and the quinoa is soft).
- While the quinoa is cooking, pre-heat the oven to 425 degrees. Then, take your hollowed tomatoes and brush them with a little bit of olive oil.
- When the quinoa is finished, full with a fork (like you would with rice) and then gently fold in the parmesan cheese. At this point I would taste it to see if it needs salt and pepper.
- Place the cooked quinoa in each of the tomatoes and top with 1 tablespoon of goat cheese. Bake in the oven until golden brown (about 20-25 minutes).
Love always,
Erica
I just found my new challenge (which it turns out to never be a challenge if I follow your instructions). I always wanted to do something like this. Not only it is delicious, it also looks very nice for any event. It is definitely going to happen in my kitchen. Thanks!
Great!!!! Please take a photo and share on Facebook when you do this 🙂
I made this dish tonight! Unfortunately, when I was transferring the tomatoes onto a plate (so i could photograph to show you) they collapsed. 🙁 nevertheless the flavor was delicious. I love experimenting with quinoa! Also, it was my first time trying goat cheese & I really enjoyed it. Thanks for sharing this! 🙂
Aww!! The same thing happened to me too. They are hard to make pretty, but when they taste that good, who cares?! 🙂 xoxo