Marsala Mushroom Quinoa and Listening to Leslee

Here's the thing about Marsala Mushroom Quinoa.....it's not the prettiest of dishes. The raw ingredients look way better than the finished product, but the finished product is incredibly yummy. I made this for the first time a couple months ago and randomly mentioned it on Facebook. The lovely Leslee asked for the recipe and so, after a little tweaking, I managed to get it put together. Much of the cooking that I do is a little of this, a little of that with spices and ingredients. I tend to do a lot of cooking by "feel", and I do a ton by tasting and adjusting. If I make this recipe again in the future, I might try doing it with a more varied mix of mushrooms. It tastes great with just normal white mushrooms, but throwing in some portabellas or shitake would probably be quite lovely.

Quinoa is a fantastic grain. It's high in protein, it has an interesting texture, and it takes flavor really really well. It's just as quick to make as rice from scratch. I like this dish as a side item, but if you wanted to make it into an easy main course, you could use it to stuff some peppers and then wrap them in foil and bake for 25 minutes or so. You can also throw in a bunch more veggies to turn this into a main course.


Marsala Mushroom Quinoa

8oz Mushrooms, sliced
3 Tablespoons Butter
1 Cup Quinoa
2 Cups Vegetable or Chicken Stock
2 Tablespoons Marsala Wine
1/4 Cup Parmesan
Salt
Pepper
Fresh Parsley (optional)

Melt the butter is a large pan and brown the mushrooms. When they are browned, remove them but leave as much liquid in the pan as you can. Add the Quino and mix on a medium heat for about a minute. Then, add in the Stock, a hefty pinch of salt and several good grinds of black pepper and let simmer. It will take about twenty five minutes on a medium heat. Quinoa is down when each grain is big and translucent. Taste it at 20 minutes and see if you like the doneness. The Stock should all be absorbed.
Next, add the Marsala wine and the parmesan. Cook for two more minutes. Taste and adjust seasonings as necessary. You may want to add a little more butter. Serve with a sprinkle of fresh parsley if you have it.

Makes 4 side dish servings or 2 main dish servings.



See how it's just not that attractive? I feel bad for the little dish.

So, since Leslie got her request, does anyone else have something they would like a recipe for?