Quinoa + Swiss chard cooked down with tomato paste, garlic, and spices + simple marinated herby beans + pickled red onions. The “hardest” part of this recipe is cooking the Swiss chard (watch the video demo!). You’re using 3 large bunches and it will seem like a lot, but it cooks down into a normal amount I promise!
Ingredient highlight
Swiss chard! is in the same family as beets and spinach and is packed with tons of nutrients: carotenes, vitamin C, E, and K, fiber, magnesium, potassium, and iron (just to name a few). Keep those stems! Cook the stems first like you would onion or celery, then add the leaves (just like in this recipe!).
Servings 4 peopleIngredients
- 1 cup quinoa about 3 cups cooked
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 tsp fennel seeds
- ¼ tsp red pepper flakes
- 3 large bunches swiss chard, leaves torn off + stems thinly sliced the bunches weighed 2lb total at the store
- 1 clove garlic, thinly sliced, optional
- 3/4 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
For the marinated beans:
- 2 (15 oz) cans cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
- ½ cup chopped parsley, cilantro, dill, or scallions
- ¼ cup red wine vinegar or other vinegar
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
For the pickled onion:
- 1 red onion, thinly sliced
- ½ cup water
- ½ cup red wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar
- 1 tbsp kosher salt
Instructions
- Pickle the red onions – pack the red onions in a large mason jar. Pour the water, vinegar and salt on top and shake. Press onions down so they are all submerged. If it needs more liquid, just add equal parts water and vinegar. Let it sit overnight or for at least 1 hour.
- Cook quinoa if you don’t have it prepped. Add quinoa to a medium pet along with 1 ½ cups water. Bring to a boil, then simmer, covered, for 15 minutes or until the water has evaporated and quinoa grains have burst open. Remove from heat and let sit, covered, for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork and set aside.
- Add all ingredients for the beans to a medium bowl and toss to coat. Set aside.
- In a large pot or dutch oven over medium heat, add the olive oil and tomato paste. Cook the tomato paste, stirring occasionally, for 3 minutes or until it darkens in color and starts sticking to the pot. Stir in the fennel seeds and red pepper flakes and cook for 30 seconds.
- Add in the sliced chard stems and ½ teaspoon salt and cook for 1 minute, stirring often, or until softened. Add in half of the chard (tearing the leaves into pieces while adding to the pot), garlic (if using), and remaining ¼ teaspoon salt and cook, stirring frequently, until the chard has wilted down, about 1 minute. Add the remaining chard and cook, stirring frequently, lifting the bottom cooked chard/stems to the top, until it has all wilted down, about 5 minutes. Continue to cook until most of the water has evaporated and a thicker tomato sauce starts to form, about 2 minutes more. Stir in the lemon juice.
- Serve quinoa with the chard and beans and top with a drizzle of the bean marinade and pickled onions.
Items you can prep ahead (optional)
- Cook quinoa
- Marinate beans
- Pickle onions
- Prep and cook chard (if you have all the other things done, you can easily cook the chard the night of for a quick meal)
Substitutions
- You could use kale instead of Swiss chard, but don’t eat the stems!
- Use your favorite bean in place of cannelini
- Top with some feta cheese for extra salty creamy bites
Storage
-
Store leftovers in airtight containers in the fridge.
- Beans: up to 5 daysin the fridge or up to 3 months in the freezer
- Quinoa: up to 1 week in fridge or up to 3 months in freezer
- Chard: up to 5 days in fridge or up to 3 months in freezer
- Pickled onions: up to 2 weeks in the fridge
Leftovers + Repurposing
- Warm the quinoa and chard. Serve with marinated beans and top with pickled onions, fresh herbs if you have them, and a squeeze of lemon if you have it.
- Top with a fried egg!
- Beans on toast! Have you tried this? Try toasting your favorite whole grain or sourdough bread (the crustier/thicker the better) and top with the marinated beans (and maybe a fried egg!).
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