Spicy Coconut Quinoa and Black Beans with Pineapple

On Tuesday night I taught the first CSA Cooking Class with Farm to Table Event Company at our local organic farm, City Roots. If you live in Columbia, then you know how cool that place is! For the class, we taught people how to make four different recipes using City Roots GORGEOUS oyster and lions mane mushrooms, including my simple mushroom and white bean pasta.

It was the first cooking class I've taught, and cooking in a totally new kitchen no less, so I totally expected a few things to go wrong. Sure enough, I forgot to add the onions to the ragout (duh), one of the pots of water wouldn't come to a boil, and I kept losing my spatula.

The only major mishap - no amount of AC could beat 6 burners going at once. Y'all, I was dying. When I looked in the mirror after getting home, I had black mascara just running down my face. Some of the participants had to take a cool-off break in the walk in fridge!

Moral of the story: stovetop cooking in the summer is a poor life decision. So yay for this month's Recipe Redux theme, Beat the Heat with the Pressure Cooker.

I usually use mine to make brown rice or beans, but I decided to get creative this month and do a one-pot meal. This spicy coconut quinoa and black beans with pineapple is a great make ahead dish. I would definitely double it up and freeze more for later. You could use it as a burrito or taco filling, or stuff it into a sweet potato.

If you don't have a pressure cooker, I would highly recommend snagging one. Here's a link (affiliate) to the one I use I love. Seriously guys, sell your slow cooker. Pressure cookers can do both and you know you want to cook your brown rice in 20 minutes.

I topped my coconut quinoa and black beans with slices of avocado and a drizzle of salsa, but you could also add some veggies with grilled zucchini, chopped cucumbers, or a tomato and red onion salad.

Serves: About 3-6, depending on how hungry everyone is

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups quinoa, rinsed
1 sweet onion, peeled and finely chopped
1 1-inch piece of ginger, grated or minced
1 14-ounce can coconut milk
2 1/2 cups low sodium vegetable broth
1 garlic clove, peeled and minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 pinches cayenne pepper
2 cups frozen pineapple
1 14-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 avocado, peeled, pitted and sliced
Salsa, for serving
Chopped scallions and cilantro, for serving
Lime wedges, for serving

Instructions:

Place quinoa, onion, ginger, coconut milk, broth, garlic, salt, cayenne, and pineapple in an electric pressure cooker. Cover and set to 10 minutes.
When quinoa is done cooking and steam has been released, carefully remove lid. Stir in black beans.
Divide between bowls and serve topped with avocado, salsa, herbs and lime wedge.

More recipes you can make in the pressure cooker: