Quinoa Recipes
Quinoa is an essential ingredient for vegetarian and vegan recipes. Slightly bitter with earthy and nutty notes, quinoa has a slightly crunchy texture that is really satisfying. With 9 amino acids, it is a complete protein ideal for meatless recipes. It is also high in fibre and iron.
Quinoa originates from South America but is also now grown in Britain and Europe.
Knowing how to cook quinoa can be overwhelming at first. But in fact, it is quite simple as it can be boiled in water like any other grains such as rice, barley, couscous etc... in around 12 minutes.
I like to use quinoa in a number of dishes such as salads, pilafs, stuffed vegetables, casseroles, bread, muffins etc.. Puffed quinoa (that can be made at home or bought from health stores) is ideal to make snack bars or to add to cereals or homemade granola. Quinoa flakes are also a great addition to any vegan and vegetarian pantry.
To make my quinoa recipes more vibrant, I like to use a combination of white, red and black quinoa often sold as tricolour or rainbow quinoa. Not only is the mix of colours beautiful, but the different colour quinoa grains all have a slightly different texture which I find really satisfying.
Quinoa is gluten-free and therefore ideal for anyone with gluten intolerance looking to add some iron-rich food to their meat-free diet.
Nutritional Content: high in protein, low in fat. Great source of iron, magnesium and fibre. Good source of calcium. Gluten-free.