Spring quinoa with radishes, peas and mint
POSTED ON June 12, 2009
Spring Quinoa
Remember I mentioned soaking quinoa last week? Well since it is in the title of this blog I feel the need to give you the recipe for the way I cook it. As you know I soak it, any where from 6 hours to over night. Soaking allows grains to begin the sprouting process, therefore releasing nutrients and making them more digestible. I eat this quinoa as is with just a drizzle of flax oil, some tamari, and whatever else I have on hand like toasted pumpkin seeds, parsley, chives or avocado. So simple and delicious. And in case you need another reason to cook some, quinoa has more calcium than milk, has the highest protein content of all grains and is ready in 20 minutes!
raw quinoa
soaked quinoa that has started to sprout!
Basic quinoa
1 cup quinoa
1 3/4 cups filtered water
pinch sea salt
Place quinoa in a bowl and cover with plenty of water, swish around with your fingers for a minute and then pour into a strainer to drain. Return to bowl and cover with water to soak. Drape a cloth over the bowl to keep bugs out. Soak up to 12 hours.
Drain and discard soaking water.
Bring 1 3/4 cups water to a boil in a 1 to 2 quart pot over high heat, add quinoa and salt. Once water has returned to a boil, lower heat as low as possible and cover. Cook for 20 minutes. Turn off heat and let sit for 5 minutes before serving.
So that’s plain quinoa that you can dress up anyway you like. But today I wanted to eat it with all things spring…..radishes, peas, mint and sorrel. Plus I couldn’t get the feta I brought home off my mind and thought it might be a good finishing touch (it was, but if you want this dish vegan just leave it off and it’s just as delicious) Served warm or cool it turned out to be a great new way to eat quinoa.
Lynnhaven from Pine Bush New York makes my favorite goat milk feta, crumbled and in brine. This is their stand at Union Square farmers market.
Spring quinoa with radishes, peas and mint
2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
5 or 6 radishes, sliced
pinch sea salt
1 cup shelled peas
1 scallion, thinly sliced
1 ½ cups cooked quinoa (see above)
tamari or more sea salt
black pepper
4 or 5 leaves sorrel, cut into ribbons
Zest of half a lemon and it’s juice
1 sprig mint, leaves removed and chopped
3oz goat milk feta, crumbled (optional)
Over med-high heat warm olive oil in a medium size skillet or frying pan. Add radishes and sauté for a couple of minutes until they start to turn a light pink colure. Add salt and peas and continue cooking for 3 or 4 minutes. Stir in scallions and quinoa, sprinkle with a little tamari or more salt and a few grinds of pepper.
Remove from heat and gently stir in sorrel, lemon zest and mint.
Place in a serving bowl, crumble feta over (if using) and drizzle with some more olive oil.
Serves 3 to 4 as a side dish.
POSTED IN Gluten free, Grains
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YUM yum YUm Already planning a dinner party with this little number featuring live on stage x Thanks for all your tasty recipes x
This is by far my favorite quinoa recipe yet! All of the ingredients work so great together and I love the creaminess of the goat cheese DELISH!!
Yummy!
I made this recipe last week for my first attempt at cooking with quinoa and I love it! Perfect for using all the yummy spring vegies here in Australia
Cant tell you how nice this sounds… I must try it
Made this tonight – yum. Such different ingredients!
Hi,
thanks a lot for this post. I would just like to mention that even if quinoa if a great grain, you should try to buy quinoa that grows in your own country (it started a couple of years ago in France and I suppose it’s the same in the US/Canada). Bolivian and Peruvian people currently sale their quinoa to foreigners because it’s a way for them to make money, and with this money they buy imported products such as rice… and the ones not cultivating quinoa cannot afford it anymore because it became too expensive.
If you are interested and read French, ther is an article http://www.20minutes.fr/planete/1097187-mangeurs-quinoa-vont-ils-tuer-boliviens
Elsa