Quinoa has been cultivated in the Andes for over 5,000 years. It is referred to as the “Gold of the Incas”. Today (Keen-wah) is incredibly popular for being a great source of protein, iron, fiber, magnesium and fiber. Perfect for those from vegans to carnivores alike. This nutritional powerhouse is quite mainstream today, and can be purchased at any grocery store to big box warehouse stores. Cooking it can be quite tricky and I wanted to share a full-proof way to make it perfect every single time. This works for white, black or red quinoa equally. Now just think of all the awesome ways to incorporate quinoa into your menu. Substitute it for rice, pasta… pair it with veggies, stuff it in peppers, soups, add it to meatballs, meatloaf… mix it with honey or maple syrup and add fruit for breakfast. Add an scrambled egg to it and make a fun breakfast bowl. This is so versatile! Can be eaten hot or cold. Great to pack in lunches too! Vegan. Gluten free.
Ingredients:
1 cup of quinoa
2 cups of broth (if vegetarian use chicken – for vegan use vegetable)
Olive oil
Pinch of salt
Directions:
Rinse your quinoa under very cold water rubbing it in between your fingers. This will remove the bitter coating on the exterior of the quinoa. Do this for a 2-3 minutes. Rinse well and let it drain completely for a few minutes. In a sauté pan, heat a tablespoon or so of olive oil. Once hot, add the quinoa and let it toast. I stir every 45 seconds or so and let it get nice and toasted light brown. Once this process is done, about 4-6 minutes (avoid burning), add your broth and salt. Bring to a boil and give it a good stir. Once boiling, turn it down to a simmer and cover. Cook for 16 minutes. Leaving covered, after 16 minutes, remove from the heat source and let it “rest”. Once the 5 minutes is up, fluff it with a fork and serve. Or place in a tupperware container and cover. Keeps in the fridge for 5 days.
— Knead to Cook
Yes! I tell ya’ they really don’t mention that rinsing thing on the packages and I just don’t know why. It’s important.
I make mine just exactly as you do and I have found that the quality and even the nature of the broth is really really important too. I have a bag in the freezer where I throw stuff to make a vegetable broth every week or so. I find that when that bag (which always has a lot of celery and onion bits in it, carrot bits, a smashed tomato or two is the usual thing) has a really high ration of mushroom stems that the resulting broth is perfect for the quinoa.
I always cook it water, but toasting it and cooking in broth sounds amazing!