Up until a few days ago I had no idea what this was. Heck, I didn’t even know how to pronounce the word (it’s “KEEN-wah”). I had no idea how to prepare it, what kinds of food it would pair with, or even what it tasted like! Reading from the back of the box, I did find out that it “contains more high quality protein than any other grain,” “stands along as a complete protein grain,” “contains no gluten,” and “is light, tasty and easy to digest.”
Obviously it was going to taste really bad. I’d be better off with beans on toast. No, no, no. I should make an effort and try it.
The first time I made it, I cooked it plain. I wanted to figure out how it tasted and how it cooked. The directions seemed easy enough. I boiled two cups of water, added a cup of quinoa, covered the pot and turned the heat to low. About 13 minutes later the water had evaporated and I risked a taste. It was good! I sauteed some vegetables and topped the quinoa with the veggs. Mighty tasty.
Quinoa, with vegetables.
The taste of this grain is slightly mild and nutty. It feels less dense than whole wheat pasta or brown rice. As far as texture, it is light and fluffy, similar to couscous. As I ate, I considered the types of foods this would pair well with. Any earthy vegetables–carrots, shallots, onions, leeks, turnip, celery, etc. Smoked meats, like bacon, would complement the nuttiness beautifully. Adding a grassy, hard cheese, like aged Parmesan would be good too. Taking it back to basics and serving it plain as a sidekick to roast chicken or a steak would work well too.
Stay tuned to see what I finally decided to do…
Basic Quinoa
Note that most quinoa needs to be thoroughly rinsed before cooking/eating it. Mine came pre-rinsed, but I gave it a quick rinse anyway.
Ingredients
1 cup quinoa
2 cups water (or chicken/vegetable broth)
1/2 tsp salt (or more to taste)
Directions
- Bring the 2 cups of water to a boil in a medium saucepan.
- Add the salt and the quinoa. Return to a boil. Cover. Reduce heat to low (just to a simmer). Wait 10-15 minutes.
- Fluff with a fork, serve.
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