Quinoa with Pesto and Arugula

I know what you're thinking. Another quinoa recipe?  But this is why I love quinoa so much! You can use it in almost any dish.

I'm quickly working my way through the pesto I made last week. I had it on gluten-free bread for lunch, on rice pasta for dinner, and so on. When I was deciding what to make for dinner the other night, I figured why not toss it on some quinoa and see how it tastes? Quinoa is a good substitute for pasta, and honestly, a bowl of quinoa is probably better for you than a bowl of pasta, since it's full of protein.

Let me back up. I had a bit of an indulgent weekend... A delicious dinner Friday night at Osteria Morini in SoHo for my boyfriend's birthday (the grilled artichokes sans bread crumbs, octopus, and grilled pork chop were all incredible), Saturday afternoon at the Yankees game and a bacon cheeseburger (no bun) at Royale in Alphabet City, Sunday brunch at El Almacen in Williamsburg, not to mention lots of wine and cider... I ate and drank a ton. Oh, and of course I made these Sunday. So by Monday night I was craving a healthy, balanced meal.

I picked up a tomato from the Union Square Greenmarket on my walk home from work, some organic arugula at our local market, basil from the plant in our apartment, and I was set. All I needed to do was cook the quinoa. If that's not an easy meal...

Quinoa with Pesto and Arugula

1/2 - 1 cup cooked quinoa (I prefer to cook my quinoa in stock rather than water; it gives it more flavor)
1 tablespoon pesto
1/2 organic tomato, diced
A few fresh basil leaves
1 - 2 cups organic arugula
The juice of 1/2 fresh lemon

Cook the quinoa. Once it's off the stove, mix in the pesto, tomato, and basil.

Place the arugula on a plate and squeeze the fresh lemon juice over it (I also added a little balsamic for an extra flavor kick). Pour the quinoa mixture over the arugula. Enjoy!

This was so tasty that I had it for lunch the next day, and I'm sure I'll be adding it into my regular rotation (at least until summer is over).