Quinoa and Goat Cheese Stuffed Cherry Tomatoes
on Sep 06, 2013, Updated Apr 07, 2020
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Tomato season is approaching its height, here in Wisconsin. There seem to be tomatoes everywhere you turn; at the farmer’s markets, the produce stands, our garden at home, and even at our little cottage where our sole plant has a lone Charley Brown-style tomato that is almost ready for picking. Yes, we have tons of tomatoes and I’m making it my personal mission to take full advantage of this manna that is offered to us only during these last days of summer.
A couple of Fridays ago we decided to do an overnighter on Friday, in town. Typically we make a beeline for the lake on Friday afternoon but perhaps because we were kidless we veered off course a bit and headed up Saturday mid-morning.
Elkhart Lake is a mostly summer town and being close to the cottage, it is also a favorite place to grab a great cup of coffee in the morning and stroll about the small farmer’s market. Knowing the market is usually packed up before the noon hour I wasn’t optimistic we would be able to pick up some fresh produce that day but nonetheless was looking forward to a great sandwich and cold draft at the Lake Street Cafe. As it turned out, the farmer’s market was open, even a few minutes after we pulled into town. Not only did I get the cold beer and delicious sandwich I was pining, when we returned to the cottage we brought with us a bag of fresh dill, green onions, and 2 pints of some yellow and red cherry tomatoes.
Many of you reading this post are familiar with quinoa (pronounced keen-wah.) If however you are like I was, you may be wondering what all the buzz is about when it comes to quinoa. In a nutshell, it’s a nutty-tasting seed, it’s delicious, it’s full of anti-oxidants and protein. Take a look at this link for more information on quinoa.
Now that you may have learned a little bit more about quinoa, one more very important thing I should share with you is this: It’s very easy to make. A sauce pan filled with hot water, a cover, and about 15 minutes. What could be more simple?
This was the first time I’ve made anything with quinoa, it won’t be the last and so if you are a Platter Talk follower, you can be sure there be more dishes and ideas using quinoa coming down the line.
These went with us to a church picnic on Sunday afternoon and seemed to go over pretty well. I intentionally went a little light on the amount of goat cheese that I used but next time I will step it up a notch. Quinoa lends itself to all sorts of complimentary formats and it seemed to do particularly well with the creamy structure lent by the cheese. The 90-plus degrees, the cold beverages, and the fun crowd all went well with this little appetizer. Give it a try and let me know what you think!
Quinoa and Goat Cheese Stuffed Cherry Tomatoes
Ingredients
- 2 pints cherry tomatoes
- 4 oz goat cheese
- 1 1/2 cup dry quinoa
- 1/3 cup fresh dill, chopped
- 4-5 green onions, chopped
- 1 lime, juiced
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
- Bring 3 cups water to boil in medium sized sauce pan. Add quinoa, cover, and reduce to simmer. Continue to simmer 12-15 minutes until liquid is absorbed.
- Remove quinoa from heat and allow to cool
- Core tomatoes, removing seeds and pulp.
- In large mixing bowl, combine quinoa with goat cheese, dill, green onions, lime juice, and salt.
- Mix thoroughly
- Use teaspoon to stuff tomatoes
- Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Notes
Rinse the quinoa seeds with cold water, prior to using. This will wash away the saponin which is a bitter tasting plant compound.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
i am so thrilled by your photos! gorgeous!
Thanks you! I hope you will give this dish a try sometime, it’s truly delicious!
I am definitely pleased that tomato season is still booming and raring to go! These little cherry tomato bites are fabulous! The quinoa and goat cheese seems like the perfect stuffing.
Joanne,
Thanks for the comments! Hope you have a great week!
These are too adorable! Tomatoes and dill scream end-of-summer.
Irina,
Well stated! Thanks for the comments.
These cherry tomatoes with the quinoa and goat cheese look soooooooo good!!! They are just so pretty looking and even something you can snack on without any guilt! LOVE IT!
Samina,
Guilt free for sure!! And, delicious. Thanks so much for the comments.
Love this take on stuffed cherry tomatoes. Fun football food for the girls 🙂
Yes, totally! Thank you for the comment and… Go Pack Go!!
Quinoa truly is a gem…being a complete protein and all. I love that you provided a link so others can learn about this fabulous food. I like replacing it for rice in the dishes we cook at home. I’ve never made stuffed tomatoes though and I simply must while fresh tomatoes are around! I’m up late spreading all sorts of blog love around (catching up) and I’m getting hungry. That cold beer and delicious sandwich you mentioned sounds REALLY good right now, LOL! Thanks again for sharing, my friend. I love reading your blog! xo
Stacy,
Thanks for the great tip on replacing rice with quinoa, such a great idea and it makes perfect sense. Seems that we were both up burning the midnight oil – while you were up spreading blog love, I was up obsessing over advancing my little blog project from it’s infancy phase to its next state of development; as you know they are works in progress! Your encouragement means the world to me, truly. Thanks again for stopping by!! (Enjoy your weekend!!)
Great,I will make this one of these days!
Thanks for the comments!!
These are so cute Dan! Goat cheese and tomatoes pair so well together. I can eat a boatload of these. 🙂 Happy Friday!
Anne,
Thanks a ton for the comments! Hope you have an enjoyable weekend as well!
These look phenomenal! Awesome idea to mix these ingredients together and they’ll be a perfect appetizer at my next dinner party. 🙂
Tina,
Thanks for the comments. I think if you make these, you won’t regret them!!
Those tomatoes look so so good!
What an amazing idea to fill them with this quinoa/goat cheese/dill mixture!
Shashi @ http://runninsrilankan.com
Shashi,
Thank you for the comments, I’m learning just how wonderfully quinoa and goat cheest go together. They are both so versitile and both lend unique character and flaver as well as unique structure. Have a great weekend!!