Ground Chicken with Tomato Sauce and Quinoa

 

This dish really wants to be pasta. And it really could be. Except for one small detail. There is no pasta in the recipe. Instead there is quinoa. Red quinoa to be more exact. It is actually quite a logical substitution. It doesn't mimic pasta in anyway, but it kind of makes the dish a cross between a rice stir fry dish and a pasta dish.

Try being something you're not, and calling yourself by that. I am a cat. Call me kitty cat. Ok, so that may have worked for Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman in Wedding Crashers, but I'm thinking it doesn't work for me. However this "pasta" dish is delicious, regardless of if you think of it as a pasta, or just a quinoa dish. You know what? I like that. It's a quinoa dish.

Let's eat!

 Step 1. Wine and a side (I had kale salad).

Step 2. Quinoa.

Step 3. Chicken and Tomato Sauce.

Sneaky, sneaky! Look what's under our chicken and tomato sauce (you know this though)

Step 4. Finishing touches. Parmesan!

Salute!

Ground Chicken with Tomato Sauce and Quinoa

Serves 4

Quinoa:

1 cup red quinoa

2 cups water

Chicken with Tomato Sauce:

1 lb Ground Chicken

1 jar tomato sauce (I used Oliveri Tomato Basil, but feel free to substitute with crushed tomatoes or your own tomato sauce instead)

1/4 cup sweet onion, diced

1 garlic clove, diced

1/2 cup fresh tomatoes, diced

2 tsp fresh parsley, coarsely chopped

2 tsp fresh rosemary, coarsely chopped

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

To make the quinoa:
1. Bring quinoa and water to a boil.
2. Once boiling, cover and reduce heat to low. Cook for 15 minutes. Allow to sit for 5 minutes prior to serving.

To make the Chicken with Tomato Sauce:
1. In a large skillet, over medium high heat, cook onion, garlic and tomatoes until the onions are translucent, about 5 minutes.
2. Add the ground chicken and continue to cook until the chicken is cooked through and it is no longer pink. Drain any additional moisture or fat that has been released during cooking.
3. Add the parsley, rosemary, salt and pepper and cook for an additional minute.
4. Add tomato sauce and bring to a boil. Once boiling, allow the sauce to simmer for five minutes.  Let the sauce rest five minutes before serving.
5. Serve sauce over the quinoa. I served mine with a nice fresh kale salad with a balsamic vinaigrette.