WTF?
What's that food?
Here I will feature an item that I think is undervalued for whatever reason and give a few of my favorite uses of it.
Quinoa? A gluten free edible seed. Very high in protein. So this is a viable substitute for those who have for whatever reason chosen to leave meat out of their diet. Also it is very suitable for replacing the rice in your favorite recipe. Still not convinced that quinoa is for you? Then I have saved the best for last: 1 cup of uncooked quinoa will yield 3 cups of cooked quinoa. This translates to a little more wriggle room in the budget.
Now we have a new issue, what to do with all this quinoa.
First, we have to discuss how to cook quinoa.
pre-rinse your quinoa.
Then put your quinoa in a pot with equal parts water, ie 1 cup of quinoa to 1 cup of water. Don’t forget one pinch of salt for every cup of quinoa. Bring the water to a low simmer and cover the pot with a lid. In 8 to 10 minutes you should have your finished product. Your quinoa should have tripled in size and all your water should have been absorbed.
This is ready to be enjoyed as a side or asl my personal favorite quinoa pilaf. Pilaf is commonly a rice dish that has one or all of the following added: meat, onion, vegetables, or dried fruit. My favorite version is one with various dried fruit for flavor and color along with mire poix and pomegranate molasses that makes the dish distinctly mediterranean. My recipe is on the next page:
written by: Kevin Sullivan