Millet, amaranth, quinoa, oats, barley and rice are wheat free grains. Interestingly Quinoa is actually a seed which has low- gluten content and is a rich source of protein, and is high in calcium and iron.
COOKING QUINOA
COOKING QUINOAQuinoa requires 15 minutes approximately to cook, with two cups of water for one cup of grain.
Add a little salt to the boiling water, add the washed grain, bring back up to the boil, reduce to simmer and cover.
Cook til tender and all the water is evaporated. Turn off heat and leave the lid on for 10mins for it to reabsorb any excess moisture and to become light and fluffy. This is a foundation recipe only, the basic method needed to cook it.
It now needs to have some flavour added, so why not do it during the cooking. Any flavour that you like can be added. If you have a favorite rice recipe the same will apply to Quinoa.
These grains quadruple in size when cooked. Quinoa keeps its shape well so don’t be afraid to simmer with either savoury or sweet ingredients for a few extra minutes. Wash the Quinoa in several changes of water and drain.
NOTE: While standard quinoa grains are gluten-free, Quinoa products (e.g. Quinoa flakes and Quinoa flour) could possibly contain some gluten if manufactured in a factory that also processed gluten grains.
Quinoa Sweet Breakfast Version
Ingedients:
1 cup cooked quinoa
¼ cup milk or soy milk
½ cup thin sliced apple
1/3 cup of raisins or sultanas, blached almonds or sunflower seeds
½ tsp of cinnamon or cardamon
Method:
Put 2cm of water in a small pot and lightly cook the apples til tender. Add a little more water if it dries out and add cooked quinoa and other ingredients to the pot and cook over a low heat til warmed through. Serve with warm milk and a drizzle of honey or sugar.
Quinoa Pilaf:
For 1 cup of Quinoa
½ an onion, finely diced
3 tsp of oil, butter or mix of the two
1 small onion finely diced
¼ cup carrot finely cubed(optional)
¼ cup of celery finely cubed (optional)
2/3 cup of frozen peas
salt and pepper
1.8 cups of boiled water or stock
1-1 ½ tsp salt if not using stock
*taste the water and see what you think
Method:
Chose a small 14-16cm saucepan
Heat your oil or butter and sautee the onion (carrot and celery if using) until the mix becomes a pale golden brown.
Add the washed quinoa. Stir and toss the grain in te vegetables for 1 minute and add the water, stock or stock cube. Salt to taste if necessary.
Bring back to the boil. At this stage you can add any other fresh vegetables cut small.
Once it has boiled turn to a simmer and cover for 20 minutes. Turn off the heat and leave the lid on for it to settle.
