I love a balance of textures in a meal and NEED some crunch always! This quinoa- hemp topping is perfect over mushy things like this soup and is one of my favorite toppings for avocado toast! Warning: This topping is EXTREMELY addictive!! (You may want to double the batch!)
Vegetable Quinoa Soup
1 onion, chopped
3 carrots, peeled and chopped
3 celery stalks, peeled and chopped
1 zucchini, chopped
1 potato, peeled and chopped
1 cup chickpeas (I used frozen, but canned will work fine as well, eliminate for Passover)
1/2 c quinoa
6 cups water or vegetable stock
handful spinach per bowl
bay leaf
salt and pepper, to taste
Other optional vegetables: garlic, peas, corn. green beans, kale
Place everything in crockpot and cook until done. Alternately, this would be even better if you sautéed the vegetables first, but that requires a second pan and time close to the stove!
Crunchy Quinoa- Hemp Topping (For Passover eliminate hemp and add additional quinoa)
1/2 cup quinoa
1/4 cup hemp seeds
2 teaspoons oil
salt, to taste
Place quinoa in a dry pan without any oil over medium heat. Allow to toast about 5 minutes, continuously stirring so as to keep it from burning. Add oil and hemp seeds and allow to cook another 5 minutes until toasty and crunchy.