Qu-I-no-A? Queen-O-A? Kai-O-noa?
Oh the ever elusive pronunciation of Quinoa. (It's KEEN-wha by the way.)
Quinoa has been around for thousands of years, though only recently has it become a popular ingredient, and dubbed a superfood.
A complete protien, quinoa is the only plant food featuring all essential amino acids. It's also gluten free, low GI, low carbohydrate, and high fiber. It's pretty much a complete food.
Whether you are a health nut, trying to lose weight, or are just after some good wholesome food, try quinoa.
There is, however, a nack to cooking it.
First off you need to make sure you give it a good wash as most don't come prewashed, and quinoa naturally has a bitter coating.
You then boil it using a 1:1 water ratio. It will take between 10-15 mins to cook. What you're looking for is a small hook to begin to pop out- if, by this time, your water hasn't all been soaked up, strain it. Otherwise use a fork to mix the quinoa around, trying to get as much air in it as possible- you want fluffy quinoa.
Quinoa is relatively flavourless, the black and red varieties being more earthy than the white- and will also take a bit longer to cook. All 3 colours are natural, so don't worry about any possible bleaching.
This is a really versatile food. It can be used in baking, as a replacement to potato, rice or pasta, added to soup, or bread. Here's a really basic recipe to get you started.
Ingredients:
1.1 cup of quinoa
2. 1 cup of water
3. 1 stock cube
4. Tin of chopped tomato
5. 3 cloves of crushed garlic
6. 1 medium onion
7. Handful of button mushrooms
8. 1 teaspoon of smoked paprika
9. Pinch of salt.
Recipe:
1. Chop the onion, garlic and mushroom to suit.
2. In a saucepan add the quinoa, water, and stock and bring to boil.
3. In a fry pan, fry off your onion, garlic, and mushroom(filling the room with that amazing smell)
4. Add the tin of tomato and simmer until the tomatoes turn to a dull red.
5. Add paprika, and salt.
6. Once you're satisfied with your quinoa, take it off the heat (sieve if you need to) let if cool for a minute or two, using a fork to stir it every so often.
7. Stir the qunioa into the sauce and voila!
4. Add the tin of tomato and simmer until the tomatoes turn to a dull red.
5. Add paprika, and salt.
6. Once you're satisfied with your quinoa, take it off the heat (sieve if you need to) let if cool for a minute or two, using a fork to stir it every so often.
7. Stir the qunioa into the sauce and voila!
I hope you enjoyed this first Ingredient of The Month. Let me know if you try this recipe or what you love to do with quinoa.
Au Revoir my lovelies Rachael x
