Mushroom and Quinoa Pilaf

I needed a vegan dish for the Passover Seder meal. If you are of European origin (Ashkenazi), you cannot eat pulses during Passover; but quinoa is not a pulse and not a grain. It is a vegetable, so it can be used. I am cooking ahead of the Seder night, so that tomorrow I can focus on setting the table, whatever. Thus I know that it turned out delicious. I just hope that it reheats well. I made double the quantities below and hope to feed 12 people!

Ingredients §  10 gm dried porcini mushrooms §  3 Tbsp boiling water §  500 gm mixed mushrooms §  1 large red onion §  1 Tbsp olive oil §  6 Tbsp semi-sweet white wine. If you don’t have this, use white wine together with Vermouth. §  1 tsp ground nutmeg §  Salt and freshly ground black pepper For the quinoa §  1 cup quinoa §  1 Tbsp olive oil §  2 cups liquid (I used a mushroom broth made with the stalks of the chopped mushrooms – see step 3) §  1 Tbsp vegetable soup powder §  1 cm fresh ginger §  Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Steps 1.       Put the porcini mushrooms in a small bowl together with the 3 Tbsp of boiling water. Let it soak for half-an-hour. 2.       Meanwhile, take all your mushrooms and chop them finely. 3.       Don’t throw away the stalks, etc. Put them in a saucepan with 2 cups liquid and bring to the boil. Let it simmer for about 40 minutes. 4.       Line a wire sieve with a double sheet of kitchen paper, put the sieve over a small bowl, and strain the porcini mushrooms. 5.       Squeeze the mushrooms dry and chop them finely. 6.       Put the liquid in a small jar and keep for later. 7.       Chop the onion finely. 8.       Heat the olive oil and gently cook the onions for about five minutes. 9.       Add the mushrooms, wine, nutmeg, salt and pepper and cook over a low heat for about 40 minutes. Leave the pan uncovered as you want all the liquid to evaporate. 10.   While the mushrooms are cooking, prepare the quinoa. Follow these instructions so that you have a really tasty quinoa without any bitterness. 11.   Put the quinoa in a fine mesh sieve and rinse it vigorously with water, to get rid of the bitterness. Let in drain. 12.   Peel and thinly slice the ginger root. 13.   Heat the olive oil in a saucepan and add the drained quinoa. Let it cook for one minute. 14.   Add the mushroom stock, mixed with 1 Tbsp vegetable soup powder, ginger, salt and pepper. 15.   Bring to the boil, cover and simmer for 15 minutes. 16.   Turn off the heat and let the quinoa stand for 5 minutes. 17.   Check that it is cooked.  18.   Mix the quinoa and mushrooms together and serve. 19.   If you need to precook and reheat, sprinkle some of the reserved porcini mushroom liquid on top before warming.