Toasted Quinoa Mexican Soup

- by The Oven Mitts

I was in the mood for some mexican food, but have been a bit tired of the normal stuff I make all the time. So I tried something new!

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Ingredients: 

4 cups sodium-free or reduced sodium vegetable stock

1 (28) oz can no or low-sodium fire roasted crushed tomatoes

1 medium red onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 poblano pepper, roasted

1 red pepper, roasted

1 jalapeno, ½ of seeds removed and diced (you can remove all the seeds to reduce spice)

1 cup quinoa

1 tbsp paprika

½ tsp chipotle powder, you can substitute Mexican chili powder if you don’t have it. (reduce amount if you want a less spicey soup)

½ tsp ground coriander

½ tsp ground cumin

2 bay leaves

Pinch ground cinnamon

1 avocado, cut into ½ inch cubes

Lime wedges, for serving 

Directions:

1. Roast peppers over a gas flame on your stove, turning with tongs until skin is evenly charred. Transfer to a plastic bag, close and allow to steam until cool to the touch. Peel the charred skin by hand. Once peeled cut away the stems, seeds and veins. (this can be done the day before to save time)
2. Heat a skillet over medium heat.  Add diced onions and stir. Keep stirring until the onions start to stick and add 1 tablespoon of vegetable stock. Repeat this step, stirring often for 30 minutes, deglazing pan every so often with a small amount of vegetable stock. Cook onions for 30 minutes or until onions are a dark in color with the desired caramelized flavor.
3. While onions are caramelizing, cook quinoa according to package instructions and set aside. (this can also be done the day before if you want)
4. In a stock pot, add vegetable stock, fire roasted tomatoes, garlic, jalapeno, paprika, coriander, cumin, bay leaves, cinnamon, chipotle powder and stir. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in caramelized onions and continue to cook uncovered for 5 more minutes, remove bay leaves.
5. Add cooked quinoa to non-stick skillet (I love my Cuisinart Green Gourmet Cookware) and cook over medium heat stirring occasionally for 15 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from heat
6. To serve ladle soup into bowls and top with toasted quinoa, diced roasted peppers, diced avocado and fresh chopped cilantro. Serve with lime wedges.
   
   

http://virtuallyveganmama.com/2011/04/toasted-quinoa-mexican-soup.html
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This took me foreverrrrrrrrrr to make. And it was good but not totally worth all the time in my opinion, so I probably won't make it again. Maybe if there were some alterations to make it quicker?