Recipe: “Clear the Freezer” Forestier

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I was recently having dinner with a friend of mine who is on a plant-based journey, and he decided to make me this quinoa forestier recipe from French chef, Jean Philippe. The meal was amazing, and I knew I was going to have to make it for myself but give it a Riley Remix.

In a recent blog post I also spoke about some of the anxiety I have been experiencing around meal prepping and grocery shopping, so tackling a recipe that I knew would be inexpensive, tasty, and open to interpretation was a great first step in overcoming some of that anxiety.

I called it the “clear the freezer” forestier, in part to pay homage to the original recipe (quinoa forestier) but also to highlight how great this recipe is for clearing your freezer. Specifically, clearing out all the half empty bags of frozen vegetables that you have had sitting in there for months. We all do it, and I am certainly guilty of this.

Okay, before this turns into a classic recipe post where you have to scroll for 5 minutes before getting to the recipe, I am just going to get on with it!

Ingredients:

These are the ingredients that I used, but I have also included notes so you know where there is room for interpretation and remixing this recipe to your liking.

Quinoa Bowl

• 1 cup of quinoa, well rinsed
• 2 cups (500ml) of vegetable broth
  • I used 1 of the GoBIO! vegetable bouillon cubes and 2 tbsp of Organika’s beef bone broth for a little extra flavour and protein. But you can really use any broth here.
• Mixture of Veggies
  • mushrooms: you can combine mushrooms, or choose just one of your favourite. I used button mushrooms and cut them up into bite-sized pieces.
  • onion: I used 1 Spanish onion, or yellow onion. My friend used red onion. You can really use whichever you prefer. Just buy 1, and dice it (cut into small pieces).
  • canned chickpeas: rinse well before adding to the mixture
  • frozen veggies: I had edamame beans, green beans, and brocolli in my freezer, so I just used those. You can really use whatever you like here.
• (optional) 1lbs (495g ish) of ground beef
  • My friend used ground turkey, but I think the recipe is really versatile. So you could use chicken, or pork, or even shrimp would go well. Again, whatever you have on hand or is on sale at the grocery store
• 2 tbsp of olive oil (or whatever cooking oil you like best)

Sauce

• 6 tbsp olive oil
• 3 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 6 tbsp soy sauce
• 3 tbsp of maple syrup or honey
• 3 tsp of gochujang (fermented chilli paste)
  • you can swap this out for sambal oelek, sriracha, or chilli flakes. This is also optional if you don’t want it to be spicy.

Garnish

• chopped almonds
• sliced avocado
• squeeze of lime juice

Instructions:

1. Prepare all of your ingredients:
   • prepare your broth
   • chop your onions and mushrooms
   • cook your frozen veggies however the bags tell you to cook them
   • rinse your chickpeas
   • mix the sauce together in a small bowl or measuring cup
2. Add your broth to a pot and bring to a boil. Add your quinoa to the boiling broth, turn down to a simmer, and cover for 12 minutes, or until all the water has been absorbed.
3. Take the quinoa off the heat and set aside.
4. This is when I cooked my ground beef in a little oil in a frying pan. Depending on the meat you choose, this would be a great time to cook it. Once it is done cooking, set it aside.
5. In that same pan, add a little more oil and sautee your onions and mushrooms on medium heat for about 5-8 minutes
   • Some folks believe you shouldn’t crowd your mushrooms when you are cooking them. If you have the time and care, then I would start by cooking your onions, then set your onions to the side, and cook your mushrooms.
   • I cooked everything together and it taste great, so if you don’t have the time, don’t worry about cooking your onions and mushrooms separately.
6. When you are happy with the cook on your onions and mushrooms, lower the heat, add in your protein, chickpeas, veggies, and quinoa. and mix everything together.
   • I had to transfer my mixture into a larger pot at this point because I had cooked a lot of extra veggies so my large pan was overflowing.
7. Once all ingredients are well mixed, add your sauce mixture. Combine with the ingredients and you are all set!
8. Top with chopped almonds and serve with sliced avocado with a light squeeze of lime juice for some added brightness.

I highly recommend the chopped almonds. The whole mixture has similar textures, so the chopped almonds add a nice crunch to the dish. You are also welcome to add salt and pepper to your taste.

This was my finished product:

Maybe not the prettiest dish, and I could probably work on my food photography skills, but you can see all the lovely green vegetables in there, the chickpeas, and the chopped almonds.

This recipe made me 4 large glass meal prep containers full of leftovers. I will likely be eating this for lunch and dinner the next few days to make sure nothing goes to waste.

It is amazing just how tasty this is, considering how simple it is to make! This will be added to my rotation of simple, healthy meals that can be shared with friends or packed away for lunches and dinners throughout the week.

If you try this, let me know! I would love to see how you remix the recipe and what you are able to clear out of your freezer.