Mediterranean Quinoa

I’ve never been one to pronounce things quite right.

I think it might have something to do with the fact that I’m highly gullible and come from a family who suffers, at least in part, from the same problem. My Italian grandmother, god knows why, grew up calling pesto: “paste-o.” Which is a) wrong, and b) kind of gross sounding.  But that’s the way she said it until the day she died. 

My aunt and I seem to mispronounce, and just generally misunderstand, a number of things as well—mostly because we’ll believe almost anything told to us with any amount of authority—deserved or not. If someone tells her that “superfluous” is pronounced “superlefuss,” well, she’ll believe them. And I’m not exactly one to talk, ever since that time in elementary school when my grandfather told me that Shania Twain had a brother named ChooChoo and I believed him. It wasn’t until I stood watching my parents smile knowingly at each other as I told them about how cool it would be to be named ChooChoo Twain that it dawned on me that I might have been duped. 

I mention all this only because this recipe involves quinoa. 

I don’t know about you, but I think whoever named this little grain clearly did it to get a kick out of watching obnoxious people argue over its proper pronunciation. This same person clearly came up with “açaí berries,” decided that the only letter getting doubled in the word Mediterranean would be that random r in the middle, and is most likely behind the name of that Gotye guy who sings that song: “Somebody That I Used to Know.”

See, in my family, we discovered quinoa—“keen-wahhhhh"—before it became a popular, well-known, properly pronounced, kind of ingredient. Back then, no one was there to correct us and the backs of the Trader Joes' quinoa boxes didn’t have humorous yet slightly condescending explanations about its proper pronunciation.

Even now, when everyone seems to be on board the quinoa bandwagon, it still trips people up. And if you tell me that you haven’t said it “keen-oh-ah” at least once in your life, then either you’re a big fat liar or just way better at life than I am. If that’s the case: teach me your ways.

Personally I don’t particularly mind how it gets pronounced. Sometimes I still say “keen-oh-ah” just to frustrate the people around me. It’s kind of a fun game, definitely up there with asking the driver, “are we there yet?” as much as humanly possible while on road trips, and tightening the lids on jars in the fridge so ridiculously tight that no one else can open them.

Anyway, no matter how you pronounce it: this dish is delicious. It’s also great for summer time meals or picnics as it can be served warm, or cold, as a main meal, or a side dish.

Mediterranean Quinoa

Serves 4-6

2 cups uncooked quinoa

4 cups vegetable broth or water

3 tablespoons olive oil, divided

1 small onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

½ cup sundried tomatoes, drained if kept in olive oil or water, and chopped

1 14oz can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped

½ cup kalamata olives, sliced

salt and pepper to taste

4 oz feta, crumbled

optional: 1-2 tablespoons fresh basil or oregano, to taste

Combine quinoa with vegetable broth (or water) in a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover with lid and simmer about 15 minutes until the quinoa is translucent and the germ has spiraled out from each grain. Set aside.

In a pan, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil on medium heat and add onions and garlic. Sauté until fragrant and the onions are beginning to golden.

Add sautéed onions and garlic, chopped sundried tomatoes, artichoke hearts, and kalamata olives to quinoa. Season with salt and pepper. Toss gently to combine all ingredients. Drizzle with remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil. Top with crumbled feta and basil. Can be served warm or cold.