Quinoa con Pollo by Weird & Ravenous

This dish made with rice was a childhood favorite of ours. We made it healthier by substituting quinoa. A super easy recipe, this will surely please all members of your family—big and small!

Serves a family of 4, heartily

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 pound boneless, organic skinless chicken breasts, cut into cubes
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• Coarse salt
• One 28-ounce an whole peeled organic tomatoes
• 1 organic white onion, peeled and roughly chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, peeled
• 2 cups organic quinoa, rinsed and drained in a sieve
• 1 cup organic frozen peas
• Warm corn tortillas, sliced organic avocado, hot sauce and cilantro for serving

Directions

Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy pot set over medium-high heat. Add the chicken to the hot oil, sprinkle over the cumin and a large pinch of salt and cook, stirring now and then, until browned on all sides, about 8 minutes total. Depending on the size of your pot, do this in batches if necessary. Transfer the chicken to a plate and set it aside.

Meanwhile, combine the tomatoes, onion, and garlic together in a blender and purée until completely smooth. Set the mixture aside.

Add the quinoa to the pan and cook until the water that's clung to it from rinsing it off has evaporated and it starts to smell a little toasted and nutty, about 3 minutes. Add the reserved tomato mixture to the quinoa along with a big pinch of salt. Make that two pinches. Stir everything to combine, bring to a boil and then lower the heat so that everything is at a gentle simmer.

Tuck the browned chicken back into the mix, cover the pot and cook until the quinoa is just cooked through, 15-20 minutes.

Uncover the pot, scatter the peas over the quinoa mixture and then put the cover back on. Let the pot sit covered off the heat for 10 minutes, letting the residual heat cook the peas. Uncover, stir everything to combine and serve immediately with plenty of tortillas, avocado, hot sauce and cilantro.

~ Cleo Brock-Abraham + Julia Turshen of Weird & Ravenous

Cleo and Julia are the two best friends behind Weird & Ravenous, a production company that makes fresh content about food and the relationships it inspires. With a careful understanding of the many factors that go into preparing a meaningful meal, Weird & Ravenous is stirring the pot.