About 2 months ago, at the market, I decided to buy a new type of grain - quinoa (pronounced keen-wa). At our favourite nut-and-grain place it promised to be a great substitute for rice and could be used in salads, etc. I didn't get to making it, but I thought tonight would finally be the night. What sparked this sudden interest was 2 things - firstly, I read about it in Madison in their detox article. It is a high protein, low GI food source which is phenomenal for the body. Secondly, I pulled out my list of 'Foods to avoid, Foods to eat' from the natropath and low-and behold there it was on 'Foods to eat'. And since I've been told gluten and wheat are NOT my friend, and sweet potato, pumpkin and occasionally couscous or brown rice get a little boring, I thought it was now or never to try it out.
The good news and the average news. The good news, you cook it for 10 - 12 minutes. 10 is good, 12 is actually overcooked. It has a great crunch to it and was perfect for what I made it for. Average news - because it's not bad- it doesn't have a lot of it's own flavour. It's more like couscous than brown rice in that respect. Season it well and mix it with great flavours and you'll be sorted. The recipe I saw it with was for poached chook, avocado and cherry tomatoes tossed with the quinoa and olive oil and lemon juice to flavour.
I made it slightly differently. I cooked off some courgettes, yellow peppers and snow peas until they were al dente while the quinoa was cooking. I chopped up some cherry toms, added a little feta and mixed these with the hot veggies in a bowl. I grilled a lamb chop to have with it, strained the quinoa and mixed it up with the veg. Now here's where the bonus of the quinoa not having too much flavour comes in. The flavour of the veg and feta comes through and you get a lovely crunchiness.
So, for everyone who's made silly New Years resolutions, for anyone who is trying a healthier diet, for anyone who's looking for an alternative to a gluten or wheat product - try it! It actually comes as a plain colour, black and a red. If you can find the mix like I did, it looks great!
Enjoy and let me know if you've come up with some interesting combinations :)
xx
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