I wrote in depth about the Superfood properties of quinoa: gluten free + high protein + complete protein + vitamins and minerals + high in fibre. Read more detail here. Quinoa comes in many different varieties but the most common are white, red and black.
Note: Red quinoa has a bitter taste if not washed. I do not cook red quinoa on its own, instead I will mix 10% red quinoa and 90% white quinoa and mix well.
Most people wash their quinoa but the variety that I buy is not bitter. The theory is that washing or soaking quinoa removes the bitter outer casing. You will only know if you need to wash your quinoa if it tastes bitter when cooked. If using red quinoa always pre-soak for 1o minutes, rinse before adding to the pot.
Quinoa is very easy to cook. I cook as I would rice, with a few quantity adjustments. When cooking quinoa, I allow 1/4 cup uncooked quinoa per person. The recipe below is for 4 people.
It’s as simple as chucking the quinoa in a pot + adding some water + chucking in some salt.
It’s a very easy way to add a high protein & nutrient rich staple to your diet.
Quinoa (Gluten free + Whole grain)
Serves 4
WHAT YOU’LL NEED
1 cup of quinoa
1 1/4 cups water
salt or Herbamare* to taste
white pepper
WHAT TO DO
Put the quinoa and water into a medium sized heavy based pot. Add your seasoning and turn the heat up to medium.
As soon as the water starts to boil, turn the heat down to low, put on the lid (cover any holes in your lid with an upside down egg cup) and set your timer for 15 minutes.
Once the timer has sounded, turn off the heat and let it sit, off the stove and closed for 5 or so minutes.
Remove the lid and fluff it up with a fork. You can add some olive oil at this point and mix it through.
Serve it as you would rice.
Delicioso!
*Herbamare: A.Vogel Herbamare® is a herb infused salt originally developed by a famous Swiss Naturopath A. Vogel. 12 fresh organic herbs are combined with natural sea salt and dried for 12 months. It makes for a tasty, herby salt. It can be bought at most supermarkets and health food stores.
