Quinoa
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Countries of origin: Peru, Bolivia Soul food of the Andes.
Tiny seeds from one of the most amazing plants on the planet. Hardy, nutritious, productive, tasty, interesting, versatile, and a Fairtrade scheme is in place.
Portions below are for 4, scaleable.
Ordinary (or white) quinoa is a plain fawn colour, and red quinoa is a deep maroon. These are the descriptions I would give the currently available products.
If you can cook rice, you can cook quinoa, it is that simple.
Ingredients
Method
Preparation
Rinse the grains of quinoa well in cold water to remove any residual (and natural) coating.
Cooking
Put the quinoa in a sauce pan over medium heat and swizzle the seeds around for a couple of minutes to give them a toasted flavour.
Turn the heat up high and add a little water. Stir.
Add a little more water and stir to prevent sticking.
Continue until all the water is added.
Turn down to a simmer, and simmer for 30 minutes or until all of the water is absorbed.
To serve
Turn out into a serving dish and serve hot, as you would rice.
Variation
There are many variations:
1) Omit the toasting stage and just add water.
2) Spice-fry some onions and garlic before stirring in the quinoa.
3) Add some peas and corn towards the end of the cooking (to make Curried Red Quinoa).
4) See Quinoa under "Q" in the alphabetic index.