Quinoa: How to Cook It and Three Ways to Serve It
When this article was originally written, I was interviewed by Adresseavisen for a feature about quinoa. It gave me a good opportunity to make a few different dishes and show how versatile this ingredient can be.
What is quinoa?
Quinoa is the seed of a plant native to the Andes. It is used much like a grain and is therefore often described as a pseudocereal. White, red and black quinoa are the varieties most commonly found in Norwegian shops.
Quinoa contains protein, dietary fibre and several minerals. According to the Norwegian Food Composition Table, cooked quinoa contains about 5.6 g protein and 5 g dietary fibre per 100 g. Its protein also has a well-balanced profile of essential amino acids compared with many grains. This makes quinoa a useful part of a varied diet, but not a complete substitute for everything else you eat.
How I cook quinoa
Quinoa can replace rice, couscous or potatoes, and works well in soups and salads. Rinse the seeds thoroughly in a fine sieve before cooking. Quinoa may have traces of saponins on its surface, which can give it a bitter taste.
- Use roughly twice as much lightly salted water or stock as quinoa.
- Bring to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer under a lid for 12–15 minutes.
- Take the pan off the heat and leave it covered for about 10 minutes.
- Fluff the seeds with a fork. Drain any excess liquid.
I prefer stock to water when the quinoa is going into a savoury dish. It gives more flavour.
The recipes below serve four.
Quinoa salad with blood orange and pomegranate
Ingredients
- 300 ml quinoa
- 1 bag rocket
- 1 blood orange
- Seeds from ½ pomegranate
- Juice of 1 lime
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- Salt and pepper
Method
- Rinse and cook the quinoa as described above. Leave it to cool to room temperature.
- Cut the peel from the orange and cut the segments from between the membranes.
- Remove the seeds from the pomegranate.
- Whisk together the lime juice, olive oil, salt and pepper.
- Combine the quinoa, rocket, orange and pomegranate. Fold in the dressing just before serving.
Quinoa with chorizo and coriander sour cream
Ingredients
- 4 fresh chorizo sausages
- 300 ml quinoa
- 1 red pepper, finely diced
- 1 green pepper, finely diced
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tub sour cream
- 2 spring onions, finely chopped
- 1 generous handful coriander, chopped
- Juice of 1 lime
- Salt and pepper
Method
- Mix the sour cream, spring onions, coriander and lime juice. Season with salt and pepper and keep chilled.
- Rinse and cook the quinoa. Let it cool slightly before mixing in the peppers and olive oil.
- Fry the chorizo sausages over medium heat until cooked through and well browned.
- Divide the quinoa between plates, add the chorizo and finish with a generous spoonful of coriander sour cream.
Serve with a fresh salad if you like.
Thai-inspired quinoa balls with noodles
Ingredients
- 300 ml quinoa
- 2 tbsp red curry paste
- 2 tbsp potato starch or chickpea flour
- 1–2 tbsp neutral oil in the mixture
- Oil for frying
- 4 spring onions, finely chopped
- 1 bunch coriander, chopped
- ½ red pepper, finely chopped
- ½ green pepper, finely chopped
- Juice of 4 limes
- 1 heaped tsp sugar
- 2 packets noodles, preferably glass noodles
- A little soy sauce for serving, if desired
Method
- Rinse and cook the quinoa. Leave it to cool completely.
- Mix the quinoa, curry paste, potato starch or chickpea flour and 1–2 tbsp oil. Leave the mixture for 10 minutes.
- Shape and fry one small test ball. If it falls apart, mix in a little more flour before shaping the rest into balls about the size of table-tennis balls.
- Mix the spring onions, coriander, peppers, sugar and lime juice. Leave the salad to stand while you fry the balls.
- Fry the quinoa balls over medium heat until firm and golden on all sides.
- Cook the noodles according to the packet instructions.
- Divide the noodles between bowls. Add the quinoa balls and the salad with its lime dressing. Add a little soy sauce to the noodles if you like.
Enjoy.