Last Friday, we discussed all the hype around the dark leafy green vegetable kale and now for today’s installment lets focus on quinoa. Quinoa has become popular lately but first learning how to pronounce it is the tricky part….(it’s ‘keen-wa’). I’ve been corrected by so many people that now I am the pro to its pronunciation.
There are three main colors of quinoa: ivory, red, and black. Ivory is the easiest to find, but red and black usually also show up on the shelves of natural foods stores. Quinoa is a small “grain,” similar in size to millet. My favorite thing about quinoa is its unique look after it’s cooked – the seeds each have a pale ring around them that often falls off.
How do you cook it?
Although I rinse most of my grains, this step is critical when cooking quinoa because it has a bitter coating which must be washed off. This can be a pain in the neck because quinoa is so small (you’ll need a very fine mesh strainer), but please don’t skip this step.
Quinoa cooks rather quickly, just like millet. First, bring 2 cups of water or stock to a boil in a saucepan, and then add 1 cup of quinoa and let the liquid return to a boil. Then reduce heat to low, cover, and let simmer until all of the liquid is absorbed (about 15 min). Let it sit in the covered pot for a few minutes, and then fluff with a fork and serve. This will yield about 4 cups of cooked quinoa.
So now with the weather turning a little bit warmer, I have been swaping my usual hot meal for something lighter.
This 30 minutes quinoa and corn salad with bell peppers is just that.
Ingredients
Cooking Tip: To toast walnuts: Cook in a small dry skillet over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until fragrant, 2 to 4 minutes.