Quinoa With Kale, Sweet Potatoes and Pecans

Each time I make this we enjoy it more. It is based on a recipe from “Wild About Greens” by Nava Atlas with a few changes so it better fits our Nutritarian eating style. The recipe isn’t difficult to make but it does use several pots since ingredients are cooked separately before they are put together. You can reduce prep time by using pre-chopped or frozen kale and frozen mushrooms.....For the low sodium broth, I substitute 1 1/3 cups water, 2 teaspoons VegiZest (from drfuhrman.com) and 1/8 teaspoon salt.

• Ready In: 1 hr 5 mins
• Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 2⁄3 cup pecans, chopped
• 12  ounces kale, de-stemmed and chopped
• 1  large sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch dice (about 1 pound)
• 2  stalks celery, diced
• 1  medium onion, chopped
• 4  mushrooms, halved and sliced
• 3  scallions, sliced thin
• 2⁄3 cup quinoa, rinsed
• 1 1⁄3 cups  low sodium vegetable broth
• 1  teaspoon ground cumin
• 1⁄2 teaspoon  oil (to coat pan)

Directions

1. Chop pecans and set aside.
2. Remove the center stem from the kale and discard. Wash and chop kale leaves and set aside. If you don't know how to remove the stems from kale, Google: remove kale stems.
3. Peel and dice sweet potato and set aside.
4. Prepare celery, onion and mushrooms and set aside.
5. Slice scallions and set aside.
6. Combine quinoa and broth in a small sauce pan. Bring to a gentle boil, then lower heat and simmer gently until liquid is absorbed, about 15 minutes. Set aside.
7. While quinoa is cooking, steam sweet potato until done but still firm. Set aside.
8. While quinoa and sweet potatoes are cooking, coat large covered non-stick frying pan or Dutch oven (at least 5 quarts) with oil and add celery, onion, mushrooms and cumin. Cook until soft, stirring frequently and adding small amounts of water if needed to prevent sticking.
9. Add kale and a small amount of water if needed to the pan. Cover and cook until kale is wilted and soft, stirring occasionally.
10. Add quinoa, sweet potato, scallions and pecans. Combine and heat through.