This is a food that is both old and new; as an ancient staple and a rediscovered foodie favorite. If you have noticed quinoa at all, you know what everyone is saying about it. Can it be that quinoa is the perfect food for you and your family? Could quinoa be the one new ingredient you try this year that changes the way you cook? Quinoa is all that and a powerhouse of nutrition, flavor and texture. Let's take a brief look at this super-food and why it is quickly becoming all the rage.
What is Quinoa?
Those who are not yet familiar with quinoa, may think of it as a grain, or at least a replacement for grains. The little tiny disc is actually a seed of a plant in the same family as beets, chard, and spinach. These nutritious, amino acid rich seeds are light and fluffy when cooked, with a little snap to it. You'll also find quinoa in a variety of beautiful colors such as gold, red, and even black.
Ancient History
While relatively new to the US market, quinoa has been cultivated in Peru, Chile, and Bolivia for over 50 centuries (that's right, I said centuries!) and is a staple food in their diets. The Incas considered quinoa a sacred food and referred to it as the "mother seed,” which is why we often refer to it as “Gold of the Incas.”
When Spanish conquistadors were trying to gain control of the South American indigenous people, they destroyed the fields in which quinoa was grown, and outlawed the farming and sale of quinoa. In 1980, two Americans re-discovered the health and nutrition potential of quinoa and started cultivation in Colorado. Today, quinoa is finding its way into homes and restaurants all over the map.
Health Benefits
For being such a tiny little seed, quinoa is a complete protein, containing all nine essential amino acids. Quinoa is also a great source of manganese, magnesium, folate, phosphorus, and lysine, which is essential for tissue growth and repair. The minerals contained in relatively high amounts may also be especially helpful for those people who have consistent migraines, diabetes, and atherosclerosis.
One of the most highly valued aspects of quinoa for many people is it is gluten free. Those looking for alternatives for wheat and other gluten foods can turn to quinoa in several forms to replace the gluten in their diets.
How to Eat Quinoa
The quinoa seeds are naturally covered by a saponin residue that is bitter to the palate. This is one defense mechanism the plant has to fend off the occasional passing critter that wants a snack. While commercial cultivation processes remove much of the saponin that coats the seed, it is still a good idea to rinse the seeds in cold water to make sure the process is complete. However, there are many brands that are pre-rinsed. You can use your own judgment.
Once you have the quinoa rinsed, bring a pot of one part quinoa and two parts water to a boil, cover, and simmer slowly for fifteen minutes, or until the the water is absorbed and the quinoa is tender. If you want to keep more of the natural nutty flavor, you can dry roast the seeds before cooking them. Put the quinoa in a skillet over medium heat and toss, just until the quinoa becomes fragrant.
Now you have a multitude of options for preparing your quinoa. Whether you like it hot or cold, you can put it into a salad or in a soup. You can also form your cooked quinoa into patties with a variety of ingredients. Go ahead and add cooked quinoa to your favorite pancake or muffin recipe for a brand-new take on healthy eating.
No matter if you are looking for a gluten free alternative to grains, or you are a food lover who is just looking for something new to experiment with, or you want to give your nutrition a real boost, give quinoa a try. With all the possibilities, you could easily create a quinoa creation for every day of the year!
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Eight Recipes Using Quinoa
Healthy Vegetable Quinoa
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp red pepper
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 cup quinoa
2 cloves minced garlic
1/2 tsp thyme, dried and crushed
1/4 tsp marjoram, dried and crushed
2 medium sliced sweet potatoes
1 peeled eggplant, cut in 1/2-inch cubes
1 medium-size tomato, wedged
1 sliced green bell pepper
1 sweet onion (small), wedged
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth or water
Non-stick cooking spray
Preheat oven to 450°F.
Line large jelly-roll pan with foil and coat with cooking spray.
Arrange eggplant, tomato, bell pepper, potatoes, and onion on the pan and coat vegetables lightly with more cooking spray.
Sprinkle black pepper, ground red pepper, and salt over vegetables and toss to coat.
Bake for 20 to 30 minutes or until vegetables are just tender and browned.
In the meantime, place quinoa in a strainer and rinse well.
Coat a medium saucepan with cooking spray, then cook garlic, marjoram, and thyme for 1 to 2 minutes, stirring as you go.
Add quinoa and cook for an additional 2 to 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add water or broth and bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to low heat.
Cover and simmer until water is absorbed, about 15 to 20 minutes.
Quinoa will become somewhat translucent when done.
Gently mix quinoa and vegetables in a large bowl and serve immediately.
Serves 6.
Meatless Quinoa Loaf
8 ounces fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 can garbanzo beans
3/4 cup oats
2 cups cooked quinoa
1 cup frozen green peas
fresh parsley or thyme
1 cup sweet onions, finely chopped
10 sundried tomatoes in oil, chopped
salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 egg
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Lightly grease an 8-inch loaf pan with oil or cooking spray and set aside.
Heat oil in a large skillet on medium-high heat.
Add mushrooms, onions, and salt and pepper to taste.
Cook 6 to 8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms are golden brown.
At the same time, put oats, beans, and 1/2 cup water in a food processor and blend until almost smooth.
Combine mushrooms, quinoa, peas, bean mixture, parsley, tomatoes, onion, egg, salt and pepper in a large bowl.
Transfer this mixture to a prepared loaf pan and gently press and shape evenly, with a slight bulge in the middle.
Bake for 60 to 75 minutes until firm and golden brown.
Let the loaf cool for around 10 minutes before slicing. Serve immediately.
Tofu Quinoa Salad With Ginger Soy Dressing
salad:
1 cup quinoa
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 lb tofu, about 1/2 container
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp soy sauce
3 cups snow peas or broccoli, steamed or blanched for approximately 3 minutes
1/4 cup cilantro
1/4 cup green onions
dressing:
2 tbsp lime juice
2 tbsp sesame oil
2 tbsp canola oil
2 tbsp buttermilk
1/2 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp fresh ginger, minced
1 clove fresh garlic, minced
Heat a heavy saucepan over medium-high heat. Rinse quinoa thoroughly and allow to drain, then add to pan.
Cook and stir quinoa for about five minutes until slightly toasted and all water has evaporated.
Add salt and 3 cups water, then bring to a boil.
Cover and simmer on low heat for about 15 minutes, until quinoa is tender and slightly transparent.
Drain off any excess water and return to pan.
Place a clean towel over pan, cover and let sit for 10 minutes.
Transfer quinoa to a large bowl.
Pat tofu dry with paper towels, pressing out excess water as much as possible.
Cut tofu in 1/2-inch cubes. Heat canola oil in a skillet on medium-high heat and add tofu.
Cook about five minutes until tofu is golden brown, stirring occasionally. Stir in soy sauce, then remove from heat and combine with quinoa.
Fold in broccoli or peas, green onions, and cilantro.
Whisk together all dressing ingredients and toss into quinoa mixture.
If desired, serve quinoa salad over radicchio or lettuce leaves. Serves 6.
Granny Smith Quinoa
4 servings of Quinoa
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp honey
1 Granny Smith apple
1 stalk rosemary
Cook quinoa according to package directions.
Chop the apple into bite-size pieces and chop rosemary coarsely.
Remove quinoa from heat when done and add rosemary, cinnamon, apple, and honey.
Can be served hot or cold as leftovers. Serves 4.
Baked Quinoa Spinach Loaf
1 pound fresh spinach, washed
2 tsp olive oil
2 cloves fresh minced garlic
1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
1 tsp fresh rosemary, finely chopped
1 diced yellow onion1/4 tsp crushed red-pepper flakes
1 cup nonfat cottage cheese
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 large eggs, beaten lightly 1 cup uncooked quinoa, cooked according to package directions
Olive-oil cooking spray
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Coat an 8 x 8 inch baking dish with cooking spray, then coat with breadcrumbs and set aside.
Fill a large bowl with water and ice, then set aside.
Blanch spinach in a medium pot of boiling water just until bright green, about 10 seconds, then transfer to ice bath.
When spinach is cold, squeeze out all excess water and chop finely.
Heat the olive oil in a medium saute pan, then add garlic, thyme, rosemary, onion, and red-pepper flakes. Saute until onions are translucent, about 8 minutes.
Transfer to a medium bowl and add quinoa, cottage cheese, pepper, spinach, and eggs to the onion mixture, stirring until well combined.
Pour mixture into prepared baking dish and bake in the oven for 60 to 70 minutes, until loaf is set and edges are brown.
Slice and serve immediately.
Quinoa Pudding
1 1/2 cups quinoa
1 can coconut milk (13 ounces)
1/4 cup sugar
pinch salt
1/2 cup dried mango slices, cut in small chunks
1 tsp grated fresh ginger
2 bananas
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped and toasted
Bring quinoa and water to a boil in a medium saucepan, then cover and simmer on medium-low heat until water is absorbed and quinoa is almost tender.
Add sugar, salt, and coconut milk to quinoa in pan and cook an additional five minutes.
Add ginger and mango chunks and continue cooking until mixture has a pudding like consistency, about 3 minutes more. Remove from heat.
Slice 1/2 of one banana in 1/2 inch rounds and set aside. Mash remaining bananas and add to pudding, then stir in walnuts.
Garnish with remaining banana rounds and add sugar to taste if desired.
Quinoa Oat Yeast Bread
1 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup quinoa or millet flour
1/2 cup tapioca flour or cornstarch
1/3 cup cornstarch
1/3 cup sweet rice flour3/4 cup gluten free oat flour or quinoa flour
3 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp flax seeds or chia seeds mixed with 2 tbsp of boiling water
3 eggs
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp molasses, honey, or maple syrup
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
4 tbsp butter or margarine, melted
1 packet active dry yeast PLUS 1 tsp granulated sugar (for proofing yeast)
1/4 cup plus 1 cup heated water (around 120 degrees F)
Bring all dry ingredients and eggs to room temperature.
Grease the bottoms of two 8-inch bread pans.
Preheat oven to 200 degrees then turn oven off.
Sift together dry ingredients in a medium bowl.
Combine molasses, vinegar, eggs, and melted butter in a separate bowl.
Heat water for proofing the yeast to around 120 degrees (just barely hot to the touch.)
Stir together yeast and one teaspoon of sugar in a small bowl, then add 1/4 cup of heated water.
Let this yeast mixture stand for 10 minutes. If it is not foamy and active after ten minutes then start over with another packet of yeast.
Once the yeast is proofed and ready, add egg mixture to the dry ingredients, then add the yeast mixture.
Beat this dough mixture with stand mixer on high for about 15 minutes, slowly adding the remaining cup of still-warm water. Consistency should be like stiff cake batter.
If you add too much water, simply add a little more rice flour to achieve the right dough consistency.
Divide dough in half and place in greased 8-inch pans. Place pans in warm oven to rise for 60 to 90 minutes. You can place a towel or some plastic wrap over the pan.
When dough rises to the top of the pan, bake bread for 40 minutes at 350 degrees or until a thermometer placed in the center of each loaf reads 190 degrees F.
Yields two small loaves of bread.
Quinoa Stuffed Chipotle Peppers
4 poblano peppers
1 tbsp Chipotle chiles in adobo sauce, chopped
4 cloves fresh minced garlic
sea salt and black pepper, to taste
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 tsp PLUS 1 tbsp canola oil
1 cup cooked quinoa
1 cup diced roasted red peppers
1 cup fresh or frozen cut corn, thawed
1 can black beans (about 2 cups)
1 cup goat cheese
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Arrange peppers on sheet and brush with 2 teaspoons of oil. Roast for 20 minutes, turning halfway through baking time.
Remove from oven and allow to cool until safe to handle.
Remove skins, then carefully make a slit in each chile with a small knife. This way you'll be removing the seeds while keeping the stems intact.
Combine garlic, salt, 3/4 cup water, chipotle, and salt and pepper to taste in a blender or food processor. Blend these ingredients until smooth, then add cilantro.
Heat remaining 1 tbsp olive oil in a skillet. Add corn, roasted red peppers, and black beans and cook for 2 minutes.
Stir in 1/2 cup of the goat cheese and quinoa.
Stuff peppers with this mixture.
Place the chipotle mixture from blender in a large baking dish. Add stuffed peppers and top with remaining goat cheese.
Bake for 15 minutes. Allow peppers to cool for 10 minutes before serving.
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