If you are not a fan of white rice or couscous then Quinoa could be the alternative you have been looking for, but take note that you need to cook it to perfection in order to benefit from its fluffy and light texture. If you have already cooked couscous or rice before then you are half way there to getting the consistency right for Quinoa but we are going to give you a little helping hand by showing you some quick and effective tips to cooking it the best way.
Firstly the process of actually cooking Quinoa is straight forward, so here is the recipe that you will need to follow:
Put a saucepan onto your hob and turn up the heat to medium and add the 3 cups mentioned above to the pan. You want to keep them on a rolling low boil and cover the saucepan with a lid so the Qunoa is allowed to simmer. After about 15 minutes lift the lid and just check to see how things are going, what you want to see is most of the liquid being absorbed into the Quino, if there is still quite a bit of liquid leave the dish to simmer for another 5 minutes.
Once cooked, take the saucepan of the heat and then fluff the Quinoa with a fork, it should be light a fluffy and enough for a good 3 servings (or 3 cupfuls).
Using Quinoa in the same way can get boring, just like any other food type really. What you want to do is look for new ways you can enjoy this food, but bring out different tastes of this nutty delicacy.
It may sound absurd but you can add a lot of flavour to Quinoa just by toasting it in a skillet and adding some oil. Do this for about 5 minutes so the uncooked Quinoa becomes a golden bronze color and then add it to the boiling water as you normally would (per our instructions above). Notice the taste difference?
You don’t have to cook Quinoa in water, instead look for alternatives such as chicken stock or beef stock cubes that can give a little pizaz to the overall taste. Other flavors can include vegetable broths or mushroom broths, anything to add a little bit more excitement into your dish. Give it a try you won’t be disappointed.
Oh no, you can actually use Quinoa to make a really tasty breakfast cereal, much like you would with oats. By adding aromatic spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger you can really bring out the best from Quinoa and enjoy it as your first meal of the day.
If you are a vegetarian then have you ever thought of a quinoa packed lasagne instead of meat-free or noodles? You can add cheese, herbs, vegetables and Quinoa to each layer of your lasagne and even thought it sounds stodgy it’s actually a very low calorie dish, and tasty too, Just give it a go and see what you think.
This may sound like an obvious pointer but take it from us, it’s the most important because of the way Quinoa cooks. Usually if you follow the 2 cups of water and 1 cup of Quinoa instructions it takes 15-20 minutes to cook on the correct heat, but don’t just take that for granted. Always lift the lid to make sure that your Quinoa isn’t drying out too much, or the water isn’t being absorbed as quickly as you need it to.
Cooking Quinoa can take some practice, but like anything, the more you do it the better you are going to become by learning from your previous attempts. Soon enough you will be cooking the perfect Quinoa dish before you realize it.