Quinoa can make for a surprisingly cozy meal. “It channels comfort-food vibes without being overly indulgent,” explains Bri Beaudoin in her new cookbook, Evergreen Kitchen: Weeknight Vegetarian Dinners for Everyone. When you take fibre-rich quinoa, add in aged cheddar cheese, pinto beans and chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, you’ve got a filling and flavourful main.
This recipe uses chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, a spicy red chili mixture popular in Mexican cuisine. Use two peppers from one can, and a tablespoon of sauce from the same can. Beaudoin’s easy-to-make pickled red onions top everything off by adding just enough acidity.
Cheesy Chipotle Quinoa Bake
A cheesy comfort-food one-pot meal from Bri Beaudoin's Evergreen Kitchen.
Ingredients
Cheesy Chipotle Quinoa Bake
- 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 cups finely chopped yellow onion
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 2 canned chipotle peppers in adobo
- 1 tbsp adobo sauce
- 1 tbsp ground cumin
- 1 jar (680 ml.) tomato passata
- ½ cup water
- 1 can (398 ml.) diced fire-roasted tomatoes
- 2 tbsp tamari
- 1 cup dried quinoa rinsed and drained
- 1 can (398 ml.) can pinto beans drained and rinsed
- 1½ cups frozen corn kernels
- 2 cups shredded aged cheddar cheese divided
- ¾ cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves more for garnish
- ½ cup Quick Pickled Red Onions
- 2 scallions thinly sliced
Quick Pickled Red Onions
- ⅔ cup boiling water
- 1 tbsp granulated or cane sugar
- 1 tsp fine sea salt
- ⅔ cup apple cider vinegar
- 1 red onion thinly sliced
Instructions
Cheesy Chipotle Quinoa Bake
- Place an oven rack in the centre position and preheat to 425°F (220°C).
- In a large Dutch oven or braiser, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and golden brown around the edges, 8 to 10 minutes. Add the garlic, chipotle peppers and adobo sauce, and cumin and cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. Pour in the passata. Use the water to rinse the jar and pour the contents into the pot. Add the fire-roasted tomatoes and tamari, stir, and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Stir in the quinoa.
- Cover the pot with a lid and bake for 20 minutes, or until the quinoa is fully cooked.
- Remove the chipotle-quinoa from the oven and reposition the rack, if needed, so that the top of the pot is 4 to 5 inches (10 to 12 cm) under the broiler. Set the oven to broil.
- To the pot, stir in the pinto beans, corn, 1 cup of the cheddar, and cilantro. Sprinkle with the remaining 1 cup cheddar. Broil until the cheese is golden brown and bubbling, 4 to 8 minutes. (Watch carefully, as broil times vary.) Remove from the oven and top with pickled red onions, scallions, and more cilantro.
Quick Pickled Red Onions
- Run warm water over a 4-cup (1 L) mason jar to warm the glass.
- Pour the boiling water into the mason jar. Add the sugar and salt, then stir until dissolved. Pour in the apple cider vinegar and add the sliced red onion. Use a spoon to press the onions down into the liquid. If the onions are not fully submerged, add equal parts of additional water and apple cider vinegar to cover.
- The pickled red onions are best enjoyed when soft and light pink. You can enjoy them after 30 minutes of soaking, but they’ll get better over time.Let sit on the counter for 1 hour to cool, seal with the lid, and refrigerate for up to 2 weeks.
