Happy Thursday, Noshers! How is your week going? It has been pretty busy at work, so the week is flying by for me! Today, I’m excited to share my first experience making quinoa.
In recent years, quinoa has gotten quite the buzz for its health properties, and as a complete protein. All I know is that I love it! You can use it as a base for all types of dishes, and it just absorbs and takes on the flavor of any add-in.
I admit that for someone who really likes eating quinoa (I find it such a neutral grain – in a good way!), it’s taken me a long time to actually try making it. I think what held me back was the prospect of draining something so small. I mean, rice soaks up its liquid when you cook it. And pasta is super easy to drain. But the small grain of quinoa? Hmmm. Not so much. I knew that it would fall right through my colander. I finally caved when I saw a bag of pretty tri-color quinoa at my local Trader Joe’s, and also realized I could use a splatter shield as a strainer. Dunzo!
Since I had never made quinoa before, I scoured the good old internet for my first recipe. All I knew was that I wanted to use chicken broth instead of water to cook the quinoa, to impart more flavor. I finally decided on this recipe for quinoa tabbouleh from Cooking Light. Trust me, the end product may be healthy buy it’s not light on flavor! If you are vegetarian, you can swap out the chicken broth for veggie broth or water. Enjoy!
Quinoa Tabbouleh
(recipe from Cooking Light)
- 1 3/4 cups water (as mentioned, I used chicken broth for more flavor)
- 1 cup uncooked quinoa
- 1/2 cup coarsely chopped seeded tomato
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh mint or parsley
- 1/4 cup raisins
- 1/4 cup chopped cucumber
- 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons chopped green onions
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 teaspoons minced fresh onion
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Combine water and quinoa in a medium saucepan; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes or until liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat; fluff with a fork. Stir in tomato and remaining ingredients. Cover; let stand 1 hour. Serve chilled or at room temperature.
Have you made quinoa before? What’s your favorite way to prepare it?
