January 5, 2016

Dinner for Two: Loaded Greek-Style Quinoa Bowls w/ Chunky Feta & Spicy Tzatziki

There’s just something about these quinoa bowls that makes me happy.

Dinner for Two: Loaded Greek-Style Quinoa Bowls w/ Chunky Feta & Spicy Tzatziki

Maybe it’s the colors, or the fresh ingredients, or the fact that it’s sprinkled with my one true love, cheese. But whatever it is, these bowls just feel new, and right, and perfect for 2015. So here we are, in the year Back to the Future wrongly predicted – We might not have food hydrators or hovercrafts yet, but we do have quinoa, and Instagram, and a still cool Michael J. Fox, so I guess we can call it even, right?

Right.

Dinner for Two: Loaded Greek-Style Quinoa Bowls w/ Chunky Feta & Spicy Tzatziki

Dinner for Two: Loaded Greek-Style Quinoa Bowls w/ Chunky Feta & Spicy Tzatziki

In the midst of suffering through le polar vortex: round deux I decided a bright and cheery meal was 100% necessary, so I’m hoping you’re in need of one too. After a holiday season filled with cozy meals suited for cabin fires and big blanket snuggling, I just can’t stomach another warm, comforting thing. I need freshness, energy, vitality, and other lively synonyms that mean NOT watching 17 hours of Netflix a day.

The struggle is real.

Dinner for Two: Loaded Greek-Style Quinoa Bowls w/ Chunky Feta & Spicy Tzatziki

Dinner for Two: Loaded Greek-Style Quinoa Bowls w/ Chunky Feta & Spicy Tzatziki

I’ll start by saying that these bowls require almost no cooking, so that alone makes them a winner. Once the quinoa is prepped all that’s needed is a series of slicing, dicing, and stirring, so this meal fits seamlessly into your work-week routine no matter how frigid the temperatures get.

To assemble this dish I piled mounds of quinoa, artichoke hearts, tomatoes, cucumber, olives, and feta over a bed of lightly dressed arugula, and the results were pretty damn amazing. If I had eggplant lying around I’d definitely throw it in here, or maybe swap couscous for the quinoa, or sprinkle in a few capers. If kale is more your thang, then ditch the arugula, or if feta ain’t your style, a little mozz would work here too. Basically, this is the perfect dish to get creative with, so use my version as a guideline for building your own.

Dinner for Two: Loaded Greek-Style Quinoa Bowls w/ Chunky Feta & Spicy Tzatziki

But however you personalize this beautiful bowl, all versions MUST be drizzled with spicy tzatziki. It adds a necessary punch that’s creamy and cool with mellow hints of sweet, spice, and tang – It’s seriously good. My basic tzatziki recipe is a keeper, and for the spicy part, you can adjust the level and type of spice to your own preference. I happened to have sriracha in my fridge so I used that, but hot sauce, harissa, or even a heavy dose of red pepper flakes would all produce awesomely different, spicy results – Know your taste buds, know what you’ve got on hand, and start stirring.

Dinner for Two: Loaded Greek-Style Quinoa Bowls w/ Chunky Feta & Spicy Tzatziki

And do me a favor? Close your eyes while you enjoy that first big bite. The taste is SO crisp, you’ll swear you’ve got your toes in the sand.

Dinner for Two: Loaded Greek-Style Quinoa Bowls w/ Chunky Feta & Spicy Tzatziki

Yield: 2 Bowls

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes

Print Recipe

Ingredients:

  • BOWLS:
  • 1/2 cup Uncooked White Quinoa
  • 1 cup Chicken Broth
  • 4 cups Arugula – approx.
  • 1 tsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • 6 oz Marinated Artichoke Hearts, Quartered (I used Victoria)
  • 1 cup Diced Cherry Tomatoes
  • 1 cup Diced Cucumber
  • 1 cup Assorted Greek Olives
  • 1/3 cup Crumbled Feta (I used Alouette)
  • 1/4 tsp Sea Salt & Coarse Black Peppercorn – approx.
  • SPICY TZATZIKI:
  • 1 cup Fat Free Greek Yogurt
  • 1/2 cup Minced Cucumber
  • 2 tbsps Minced Fresh Dill
  • 2 tsps Minced Garlic
  • 2 tbsps Lemon Juice
  • 1 tbsp Sriracha

Directions:

  1. In small saucepan bring chicken broth and quinoa to a boil. Once a boil is reached, reduce flame to low and cover, allowing quinoa to cook until all liquid is absorbed, approximately 15 minutes.
  2. While quinoa cooks, dice tomatoes and cucumber and drain artichoke hearts from jar. Set aside.
  3. In small bowl combine tzatziki ingredients, stirring until well mixed.
  4. When ready, assemble bowls. Toss arugula with EVOO until all leaves are lightly coated, then distribute evenly between two bowls. Top each bowl with a serving of quinoa, artichoke hearts, tomatoes, cucumber, olives, feta, and a sprinkling of salt & pepper. Drizzle with spicy tzatziki as desired, then immediately serve!

>> You will most likely have leftover spicy tzatziki – Store in tupperware in the fridge for up to a week!

Dinner for Two: Loaded Greek-Style Quinoa Bowls w/ Chunky Feta & Spicy Tzatzikihappy new year! x

posted by Christine in: Dinner for Two
15 Comments »