Salmon-Kale Quinoa Bowl

One recent night, Greg was away for work and I found myself alone for dinner. I'd just been on a long run though, and I felt entitled to to a delicious home-cooked dinner all to myself. I came up with this super healthy quinoa bowl. I served myself one portion and then divided up the rest into individual containers to take to work for lunches. Tasty, easy, filling and quick—what more can you ask for?

This is a really easy recipe to customize as well. Feel free to swap in any protein you want. I used a salmon steak I had leftover from a previous dinner, but go ahead and use whatever you have on hand—chicken, tuna, whatever. If you’re Veggie, toss in some tofu. Really it's all optional since there's loads of protein in here already thanks to the quinoa and the chickpeas.)



I also want to give a shout-out to my friend SB, who saw the pic for this dish on the Instagram feed and asked for the recipe; so here it is by request. 


Salmon-Kale Quinoa Bowl

Makes 4 entree size portions, or approximately 6 side portions.


Ingredients:

1/2 cup of quinoa, uncooked

 1 medium onion (or 1/2 of a very large one), diced

2-3 cloves of garlic, chopped

2 plum tomatoes, diced

1 -15.5 oz can of chickpeas, drained

10 oz kale, chopped

Olive oil
Salt
Pepper

Couple of sprigs of thyme and/or rosemary

 5 oz of salmon, cooked
Feta crumbles, optional



Instructions:



1.   Place ½ cup of quinoa in 1 cup of lightly salted water and bring to a boil. (Or prepare according to package instructions.) Add in a couple of sprigs of the herbs in to flavor the water and quinoa as it cooks. Reduce to a simmer. Cover and cook for about 10 to 15 minutes, or until all water is absorbed and the grains are soft and fluffy. The quinoa’s germ ring will be visible around the grain. Set aside.

2.    While the quinoa is cooking, heat a small amount of olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the diced onions a sweat until beginning to turn tender and translucent. Add the chopped garlic, pinch of salt, pepper, and a couple of sprigs of the herbs. Stir and cook for another couple of minutes until soft.

3.    Incorporate the diced tomatoes and cook until the mixture is beginning to turn saucy. Stir in the chickpeas.



  4.    Once the mixture is heated through, remove the sprigs of herbs and add the kale. If the mixture has begun to dry out, add a couple a couple of tablespoons of water. Cover the pan allow the kale to steam for a couple of minutes over medium-low heat until the leaves are bright green and just starting to become tender. Remove from heat.



  5.   Remove the herb sprigs with the quinoa and add to the kale-chickpea mixture.  (Transfer to a large bowl to mix if needed.) Flake in the salmon and gently toss the mixture together to combine. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed.

  6.    Divide into portions. Sprinkle on feta cheese if using and serve.