Mexican Quinoa With Pepita Cilantro Sauce Recipes

VEGAN MEXICAN QUINOA BOWL WITH GREEN CHILE CILANTRO SAUCE

Steps:

• Combine cashews, green chile peppers, hemp milk, jalapeno pepper, and salt in a blender; process until smooth.
• Pour cashew mixture into a small bowl; stir in 1 cup cilantro.
• Bring water and quinoa to a boil in a saucepan. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until quinoa is tender, 15 to 20 minutes.
• Divide romaine lettuce among 4 bowls. Top with quinoa, black beans, red bell pepper, and onion. Drizzle cilantro sauce on top. Garnish with remaining 1/4 cup cilantro and chopped avocados.

MEXICAN QUINOA WITH PEPITA-CILANTRO SAUCE

Steps:

• In a small pot, bring water to boil over high heat. Add quinoa. Return to boil. Reduce heat to lowest setting; cover. Simmer 15 minutes. Water should be absorbed. Fluff with a fork. Let stand, covered, 5 minutes to finish steaming. Transfer to a bowl. (I usually cook my quinoa, after toasting, in the microwave with the 1 1/2 cups of boiling water from the kettle, covered, for 12 minutes on medium-low -- about the same time it takes to cook basmati rice in my microwave).
• Meanwhile in a small skillet over medium-high heat, toast pepitas, shaking pan often, until they begin to pop and are fragrant and just starting to brown, 3-5 minutes.
• Transfer to food processor or blender. Add cilantro, garlic, jalapeno, salt and cumin. Process, scraping sides frequently, until well-minced. With machine running, gradually add oil, then lime juice, processing until as smooth as possible, and scraping down sides as needed.
• Stir pepita mixture, bell pepper and onions into quinoa. Stir well.
• Serve warm. Pass lime wedges separately, if desired.

AUTHENTIC MEXICAN SALSA

Steps:

• Take the stems off the peppers and throw away the stems.
• Place the peppers and seeds in the bender. Blend well.
• Next toss in the stewed tomatoes with juice, 1 jalepeno (sliced), 1/2 yellow onion (quarterd), 1 garlic clove, handful of cilantro, lemon juice, salt and pepper and blend til you have the consistancy desired.
• I dont like my salsa chunky, thats what Pico De Gallo is! I also dont want it to runny so it runs off your chips, so i just "pulse" it a few times.
• If you feel the salsa looks to white from the onion this just means you need to add more cilantro to your salsa. Try the salsa with your chips and adjust the seasonings as needed.
• Refridgerate for at least 1 hour before serving.

ROASTED POBLANO CILANTRO SAUCE

Steps:

• In a blender or food processor, combine the poblanos, onion and lime juice and blend until smooth.
• While the blender is running, add the oil slowly until emulsified.
• Add the spinach and cilantro and blend until smooth.
• Add the honey and season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Serve at room temperature.