Brussels Sprouts Quinoa Bake

Don’t you just love those easy-going meals that you quickly assemble and your oven takes care of the rest? This is one of them. Once the Brussels sprouts are cleaned, anything else is done in a breeze. Roasted pine nuts add some additional texture and sublime taste. This savory casserole is so deliciously healthy and nutritious that you can simply feel good about your second serving and enjoy!

You will need:

• a large casserole dish, about 13 x 9 inches (33 x 22 cm)
• if you want to make the “Thick and Creamy Tomato Sauce”, you will need a high speed blender and you should remember to soak cashews. You can of course serve it with a different sauce.

Ingredients:

For the broth:

• 1/4 cup (60 ml) extra virgin olive oil
• 1 sweet onion, diced
• freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 3 1/4 cups (770 ml) vegetable broth (I made it with homemade veggie broth concentrate, but any store-bought vegetable broth or concentrate will work too)

For the casserole:

• 1 1/2 cups (8 oz/230 g) quinoa (I used tricolor), rinsed
• generous 2 lb (1 kg) Brussels sprouts, halved, very large ones quartered lengthwise
• 5 cloves garlic, quartered lengthwise
• 12 oz (340 g) plum- or cherry tomatoes, pierced with a knife
• 1/2 cup (70 g) pine nuts
• 5 small sprigs fresh rosemary

Toppings:

• fresh parsley, minced
• some more sprigs fresh rosemary

Recommended, but optional:

• thick and creamy tomato sauce
• vegan Parmesan (see notes)

Preparation:

Wash and clean Brussels sprouts by removing the stems and any damaged outer leaves. Cut/pierce remaining vegetables.

Use a small frying pan to pan roast pine nuts over medium heat. Stir continuously because they brown quickly, and you don’t want them to burn. They should be golden brown in about 2 minutes.

Place Brussels sprouts, tomatoes, garlic, and roasted pine nuts into a large bowl and toss to blend.

Set oven temperature to 400°F (200°C).

For the broth, preheat a medium size saucepan over medium heat. Add extra virgin olive oil with diced onion and sauté for about 5 minutes until soft. Add pepper. If you use store-bought, ready-to-go vegetable broth, add 3 1/4 cups and bring to a simmer, then turn off heat. If you use any kind of concentrate, add 3 1/4 cups water with as much concentrate to make it as strong as you like.

Now place rinsed quinoa into the casserole dish and evenly spread it out.

Pour the hot vegetable broth over the quinoa.

Transfer the tossed veggies to the casserole dish on top of the quinoa broth, add the rosemary twigs, and slightly press everything into the liquid.

Bake in the oven for about 40 minutes until the top layer is nicely browned and Brussels sprouts are soft with still a little bite.

While the casserole is baking, prepare the tomato sauce towards the end of the baking time. The sauce will take you less than 10 minutes.

When the Brussels sprouts quinoa bake is ready, garnish with lots of minced parsley and some more rosemary sprigs. Enjoy with tomato sauce and vegan Parmesan!

Notes:

• You can easily make your own cashew Parmesan by pulsing the following ingredients in your food processor or blender until a crumbled, Parmesan-like texture is achieved.
  • 1 cup (140 g) raw, unsalted cashews
  • 1 tsp Celtic sea salt
  • 4 Tbsp nutritional yeast
• If you don’t have a high speed blender for the tomato sauce, you can substitute with whatever sauce you like best.