Seared Plums & Cinnamon Quinoa
This was designed as a breakfast recipe, but it quickly turned into a breakfast-or-dessert recipe. Or an anytime-you-feel-like something delicious recipe. These jammy plums and baked quinoa marry together in a perfect, subtly sweet and wholesomely delicious recipe. Pair with vanilla yogurt and it's heaven.
Equipment
- 1 chef's knife
- 1 cast iron pan
Ingredients
- 1 cup uncooked quinoa
- 4 small plums
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 3 sprigs fresh thyme stems removed
- 2 tbsp granulated sugar or honey
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp each of all spice, nutmeg and ginger
- 1 cup vanilla bean yogurt
- Olive oil and kosher salt as needed
Instructions
- Begin by cooking your quinoa according to package instructions. I like to cook mine in a rice cooker with a 1:2 ratio of quinoa to water. Set this aside.
- Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- Slice all the plums in half and remove the pits. In a large bowl, toss them with the vanilla, red wine vinegar, thyme leaves, and 1 tbsp of the granulated sugar. The plums should start to release their natural juices, this is a good thing!
- Put a cast iron pan on medium heat. Sear the plums face down for 2 minutes or until slightly charred, flip and sear another 2 minutes. Remove from the heat.
- Place the plums in a separate bowl and wipe the cast iron out.
- Mix the cinnamon, all spice and nutmeg into the quinoa with a pinch of salt. Then evenly pour the quinoa into the cast iron pan.
- Spread the plums on top of the quinoa and sprinkle the remaining 1 tbsp of granulated sugar on top. Bake this at 400°F for 20-25 minutes or until the plums are very jammy and the quinoa has slightly crisped on top.
- To serve, add a generous scoop of vanilla yogurt or skyr to each bowl, then a scoop of the quinoa and two plum halves. Serve immediately :)