Quinoa Dressing with Almonds and Craisins

I started making this quinoa dish in November, in the hopes of having it ready for Thanksgiving. As you can see from the date of this post, the recipe wasn't ready in time for this past year's Thanksgiving, but it will be ready in plenty of time for the next Thanksgiving coming up. However, this quinoa is so tasty that I don't want to wait ten months before posting it.

I found both regular white quinoa and red quinoa at our local Trader Joe's. If you can't find red quinoa, you can double the amount of the white quinoa. The dish will taste about the same but just won't be as colorful. If you can't eat almonds, try using pine nuts instead. The recipe can easily be doubled to serve more people.

Quinoa Dressing with Almonds and Craisins
serves 4 adults

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup regular quinoa. Try to find a brand that is labeled gluten-free.
  
• 1/2 cup red quinoa. Try to find one that is labeled gluten-free.
  
• 1/2 tsp. sea salt
• olive oil
  
• 1/4 cup blanched slivered almonds
  
• 1 small yellow onion
• 1 large stalk of celery
• 1/2 tsp. minced garlic
• 1/4 tsp. ground sage (or 1/2 tsp. dried sage)
• 1/3 cup craisins

Instructions:

Soak each kind of quinoa in a separate small bowl filled with tap water for 5 minutes. While the quinoa is soaking, finely chop the onion and celery.

Rinse each kind of quinoa thoroughly in a sieve and transfer each kind to a separate small pot. Add 3/4 cup of water and 1/4 tsp. sea salt to each pot. Stir to combine, and bring the water to a boil over high heat. Then reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer. (If your water doesn't simmer over low heat, then increase to medium-low.) Simmer each pot of quinoa until all of the water has been absorbed. For the white quinoa this will take about 15 minutes; for the red quinoa it will take about 20 minutes. When the water has been absorbed, remove each pot from the heat and let the quinoa rest, covered, for 5 minutes before stirring it together with the other ingredients.

While the quinoa is cooking, place a small pan over medium heat and add 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Add the almonds to the pan and stir them frequently until they have turned a golden brown and smell fragrant. Transfer the almonds to a small plate and set aside. Add 1 more tablespoon of olive oil to the pan. Then add the chopped onion and celery, and saute until the vegetables have softened. Add the minced garlic and stir for about 30 seconds until fragrant. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the sage.

When the quinoa is ready, transfer the two kinds of quinoa, almonds, onion mixture, and craisins to a medium bowl. Gently stir all of the ingredients together until thoroughly combined. Serve immediately.

Note: If you will not be eating all of the quinoa dressing at one sitting, leave the almonds on the side and just sprinkle them on top of each serving. They lose their crunch and turn soft if left in the dressing overnight.