Quinoa with Collards, Red Onions, Cilantro and Preserved Lemons

Picked the first collards of the season this evening!  I planted collards in the fall to see if they would taste sweeter and boy do they ever!!  I think the extended winter we're having has helped improve the flavor even more!  So I was wondering what to make with my collards and decided to add it to quinoa.

Quinoa is so delicious and so easy to make.  I feel like you can mix it with any vegetable and toss in some olive oil and lemon juice, salt and pepper and you're pretty much good to go.  Tonight for dinner after looking in the fridge to see what else I could add besides the collards, I found my jar of preserved lemons way in the back; I preserved Meyer lemons last year with salt, cinnamon sticks and pepper corns, you can find recipes online. I totally forgot about the lemons but the preservation technique works!!! The lemons were still good even after a year. I found a half of a red onion and cilantro that I had picked several days ago from the garden. Yes, this is seriously a whatever-you-got-in-the-fridge type of recipe, which I am notorious for. Sometimes it doesn't work, this recipe was fantastic!


Quinoa with Collards, Red Onions, Cilantro and Preserved Lemons:

1/2 cup Quinoa
1 cup Low sodium chicken broth
1/4 cup or more  Collards chopped
1/2  Small red onion, diced
2 slices   Preserved lemons, chopped finely
2 Tablespoons (approximately)  Cilantro chopped
3 Tablespoons  Olive oil
salt to taste

Meyer lemons usually have a thinner rind so you can chop whole slices of lemons. If the lemon rinds are thick, use a small knife and slice out the flesh and discard the rinds. Chop preserved lemons and soak in a bowl of water while the quinoa cooks, approximately 20 minutes. Because the lemons have been preserved in salt, the salt in the lemons needs to be drawn out before using. 

Add quinoa and chicken broth and chopped collards to a saucepan.  Cook quinoa as directed on package. During the last 10 minutes of cooking, add red onions.  At this point, drain the lemons in a colander and add at the end of cooking along with the chopped cilantro.  Add the olive oil and salt as needed and stir together. Serve warm!