Spelt Pilaf with Artichokes, Mushrooms and Pesto
We really enjoyed this meal last night. The meal is heart and filling and the grains give a nice soft nutty crunchiness.
Serving Size: 4
Ingredients:
- 1 cup whole spelt grains
- 2 cups water
- 1 cup dry white wine
- 1 teaspoon vegetable bouillon powder
- ½ cup pesto
- 8 ounces smoked tofu pieces
- 1 (14 ounce) can artichoke hearts
- 10-12 mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2 tablespoons cooking oil, divided
Directions:
- Soak the spelt for at least 3 hours or overnight.
- Make the pesto. We used kale, garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper to make the pesto.
- Cut the tofu in small cubes
- Slice the artichokes into bite sized pieces
- Chop the onion.
- Slice the mushrooms.
- Heat the oil in a large frying pan or wok that has a lid.
- Add the chopped onion and sauté.
- Drain the water from the soaked spelt.
- Add the spelt to the pan and stir well to mix with the onion.
- Add the white wine and lower the heat.
- Stir well, and place the lid on the pan so the spelt absorbs the wine.
- Meanwhile in a separate pan, sauté the mushrooms.
- Remove the lid from the frying pan and stir the spelt.
- Add a cup of water and the teaspoon of vegetable bouillon continue cooking the spelt to soften.
- Add a tablespoon of the pesto and mix it well with the spelt.
- Continue stirring and cooking to soften the spelt.
- Add the lemon juice and the last cup of water as needed.
- When the spelt become soft, add the artichoke pieces and the tofu pieces.
- Stir well to mix.
- Season to taste with additional pesto salt and pepper.
- Shortly before serving add the mushroom pieces and mix with the spelt.
- We garnished the meal with a few red pepper flakes and a few dollops of pesto.