Broccoli and Green Bean Quinoa (With Broccoli Pesto)

This recipe is an adaptation of Heidi Swanson's Double Broccoli Quinoa recipe over at 101 cookbooks. I added green beans and adjusted the pesto dressing to remove the dairy.

• Ready In: 30 mins
• Yields: 5-6 cups

Ingredients

• 5  cups broccoli, chopped small
• 3  cups green beans, chopped small
• 1 1⁄2 cups quinoa, rinsed
• 1⁄4 cup olive oil
• 3  tablespoons lemon juice
• 4  large garlic cloves, peeled and diced
• 2  tablespoons  almonds, in small pieces
• 1 1⁄2 tablespoons mayonnaise
•  garlic salt
•  pepper
•  dill

Directions

1. Break down your broccoli into small florets. Peel and chop the stems. You will use 2 cups of the stems and less attractive florets for the pesto and leave the remaining 3 cups of beautiful florets for the quinoa dish.
2. Boil the 2 cups of broccoli stems for the pesto until they are cooked through. Drain.
3. Now boil the 3 cups of broccoli and the 3 cups of green beans.
4. While the broccoli and green beans are cooking, create your pesto. Using an immersion blender or a food processor, puree the broccoli with the oil, lemon juice, garlic cloves, almond pieces and mayonnaise. Add garlic salt, pepper and dill to taste. I use my immersion blender in a large mason jar and it works perfectly. Set aside.
5. Once the broccoli and green beans are cooked to your liking, remove from the water. Add the rinsed quinoa to the broccoli/green bean water and boil for about 5-10 minutes (until the quinoa gets fluffy and the little tails pop out). Drain the quinoa.
6. Throw the quinoa and the vegetables back into the pot and mix well. Add about 1/2 of the pesto to the quinoa mix, combine well and taste. Continue to add the pesto and taste until it is to your liking. Any left over pesto can be stored for later. Add any final seasonings to adjust the dish based on your personal tastes and enjoy!