Quinoa Veggie Stir-Fry with Lemon and Herbs
Crisp-edged quinoa tossed with bright green asparagus and sweet peas, finished off the heat with lemon zest, lemon juice and a generous handful of parsley. It's a fast, vegan-friendly weeknight dinner that makes good use of leftover quinoa.
- Prep
- 20 min
- Cook
- 15 min
- Total
- 35 min
- Makes
- About 6 cups (4 main-course servings)
Steps
Before you start
- Use cold, cooked quinoa (about 1 cup / 170 g dry, cooked and chilled at least 2 hours or overnight). Warm, freshly cooked quinoa turns mushy and won't crisp. Cook time for the quinoa is not included in the timing above.
- Have everything chopped and measured before you turn on the heat. The stir-frying goes quickly.
- Zest the lemon before you juice it. A whole lemon is much easier to zest than a squeezed one.
- Use a 12-inch (30 cm) skillet or a large wok so the quinoa can sear instead of steam.
Prep the vegetables
- Snap the woody ends off the asparagus, then cut the spears on a slight diagonal into 1-inch (2.5 cm) pieces.
- Rinse the frozen peas under warm water for about 30 seconds and drain them well.
- Thinly slice the scallions, keeping the white parts and green parts in separate piles.
- Mince the garlic.
- Chop the parsley.
- Break up any clumps in the cold quinoa with your fingers.
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Ready when: Asparagus pieces are roughly uniform in size, and the quinoa looks loose and separate, with no big clumps.
Tip: Dry peas and asparagus well. Surface water makes them steam instead of sear.
Zest and mix lemon sauce
- Finely grate the zest from the lemons into a small bowl, then squeeze 3 tablespoons (45 ml) of juice into a second small bowl.
- Stir the soy sauce into the lemon juice.
- Keep the zest separate.
- It goes in at the very end so its flavor stays fresh.
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Ready when: You have 1 tablespoon of zest in one bowl and about 4 tablespoons (60 ml) of juice-and-soy mixture in the other.
Tip: Zest before juicing. A squeezed lemon is hard to grate.
Toast the almonds
- If using almonds, heat the dry 12-inch (30 cm) skillet over medium heat for 1 minute.
- Add the sliced almonds and stir often for 2 to 3 minutes.
- Tip them onto a plate and wipe out the skillet.
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Ready when: The almonds are golden at the edges and smell nutty.
Tip: Almonds go from golden to burnt in seconds. Remove them from the pan as soon as they color.
Sear the asparagus
- Return the skillet to high heat.
- When it is hot, add 1 tablespoon of avocado oil and swirl to coat.
- Add the asparagus in a single layer, sprinkle with ¼ teaspoon of the salt, and cook without stirring for 1 minute.
- Then stir and toss for 2 to 3 more minutes.
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Ready when: The asparagus is bright green, with a few browned spots, and a piece bends slightly but is still crisp-tender when bitten.
Tip: Don't crowd the pan. If your skillet is smaller than 12 inches (30 cm), cook the asparagus in two batches.
Add peas and aromatics
- Reduce the heat to medium-high.
- Add the peas, scallion whites and garlic.
- Stir constantly for 1 minute, until the garlic smells fragrant and the peas are bright and hot.
- Scrape everything onto the large plate.
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Ready when: The garlic is fragrant but not browned, and the peas are bright green and hot.
Tip: Garlic that browns turns bitter. If it darkens quickly, take the pan off the heat for a few seconds.
Crisp the quinoa
- Return the skillet to high heat and add the remaining 2 tablespoons of avocado oil.
- Add the cold quinoa and spread it into an even layer.
- Sprinkle with the remaining ¼ teaspoon salt and the red pepper flakes, if using.
- Let it cook undisturbed for 2 minutes, then stir and spread again.
- Repeat once more, for about 4 to 5 minutes in total.
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Ready when: Many of the grains look dry, are lightly golden, and make a faint crackling sound. They are hot all the way through.
Tip: Resist stirring too often. Leaving the quinoa alone between stirs is what makes it crisp.
Combine and season
- Return the asparagus, peas, scallion whites and garlic to the skillet.
- Pour in the lemon juice and soy mixture.
- Toss for about 1 minute, scraping up any browned bits, until the liquid has mostly evaporated and everything is hot.
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Ready when: The pan looks nearly dry, with no pooled liquid, and the quinoa is evenly coated.
Finish with herbs and zest
- Take the skillet off the heat.
- Stir in the lemon zest, parsley and scallion greens.
- Season with freshly ground black pepper.
- Taste and add a pinch more salt or a squeeze of lemon if it needs it.
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Ready when: The stir-fry smells strongly of lemon and fresh herbs, and the parsley is still bright green.
Tip: Adding the herbs and zest off the heat keeps their color and flavor bright.
Serve
- Divide the stir-fry among 4 warm bowls or plates and sprinkle with the toasted almonds, if using.
- Serve right away while the quinoa is still crisp.
Good to know
Tips
- Cold, day-old quinoa is the key. Its surface has dried out in the fridge, so it fries and crisps instead of steaming.
- Keep the heat high and the pan uncrowded. If the vegetables release water and the pan looks wet, turn up the heat and cook in batches.
- Add the zest and parsley off the heat. Heat dulls both the color and the flavor.
- For a heartier meal, top each bowl with a fried egg or add 1 can (15 oz / 425 g) of drained chickpeas when you add the peas.
Make ahead
Cook the quinoa up to 4 days ahead and refrigerate it in a covered container. Chop the asparagus, scallions and parsley up to 1 day ahead and store them separately in the fridge. Mix the lemon juice and soy sauce up to 1 day ahead, but zest the lemon on the day you cook.
Storage & reheating
Room temperature: up to 2 hours. Fridge: up to 4 days in an airtight container. Freezer: up to 2 months, though the asparagus will soften. To reheat, stir-fry in a lightly oiled skillet over medium-high heat for 3 to 4 minutes until hot, or microwave covered for 1 to 2 minutes, stirring halfway. Freshen with a squeeze of lemon and some extra parsley.
Substitutions
- asparagus → green beans, broccoli florets or zucchini half-moons. Use the same weight. Cut green beans into 1-inch (2.5 cm) pieces and add 1 to 2 minutes to the searing time for broccoli or green beans.
- cooked quinoa → cold cooked brown rice, farro or millet. Use the same amount. Any cold cooked grain with separate kernels will crisp up in the same way.
- low-sodium soy sauce or tamari → coconut aminos. Use 1½ tablespoons (22 ml), as it is less salty. Good for a soy-free version.
- sliced almonds → toasted pine nuts or pumpkin seeds. Use the same amount. Toast pumpkin seeds until they pop and puff slightly.
