Cooking with Annie – Roasted Sweet Potatoes, Fennel, and Clementines with Quinoa and Walnut Cilantro Gremolata

Roasted Sweet Potatoes, Fennel, and Clementines with Quinoa
Quinoa (pronounced KEEN-wah), cultivated in the Andes for over 5,000 years, has had a recent rise in popularity. Don’t let its small size fool you, quinoa is actually a grain, not a seed, and is packed with nutrients. Not only high in protein, it is also a ‘superfood’ and a source of iron, magnesium and fiber. Lastly, it’s incredibly easy to cook, taking less than 20 minutes from start to finish.

Quinoa has a slightly bitter or soapy coating called saponin and while most boxed quinoa is already rinsed, if you purchase your quinoa in bulk, it never hurts to give it a quick rinse before cooking to remove this outer coating.

6 cups sweet potatoes, cut into 1-inch pieces; about 2 potatoes
3 medium fennel bulbs, cut into 1-inch wedges
3 clementines, unpeeled and sliced into 1/4-inch slices
3 tablespoons canola oil
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
several grinds fresh black pepper
2 cups tri-colored quinoa
4 cups vegetable broth

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Toss vegetables and clementines with oil, salt, and pepper on a rimmed baking sheet and roast for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until the potatoes and fennel are tender and have browned on the edges.

Meanwhile, rinse the quinoa. Bring the vegetable broth to a boil in a medium-sized sauce pan. Add the quinoa, reduce heat to low and cover. Simmer for 20 minutes. Turn off the heat and let rest until the vegetables are finished.

Serve the roasted vegetables and clementines over a bed of quinoa and sprinkle with the Walnut Cilantro Gremolata (page xx).

Serves 4 to 6

Walnut Cilantro Gremolata
1 cup whole walnuts or walnut pieces
1 cup lightly packed fresh cilantro leaves
1 clove garlic
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice; about 1 lemon
2 teaspoons lemon zest
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
several grinds fresh black pepper

Combine all ingredients in a food processer and pulse until combined. Taste for salt and serve on top of Roasted Sweet Potatoes, Fennel, and Clementines with Quinoa (page xx).

Makes 1 cup