Quinoa, it’s the bean of the future, from the NY Times…
May 27, 2011, 3:11 pm
If You’re Keen on Quinoa
By TARA PARKER-POPE
If you enjoy cooking with quinoa (pronounced keen-wah), then you’ll be interested to learn how to use it best. This week Martha Rose Shulman explores the proper uses of this popular grain.
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how best to use quinoa, in part because of some misguided dishes I’ve recently had in restaurants.
Note to chefs: Quinoa doesn’t work as a risotto. It doesn’t have enough starch for the broth, which is what makes a good risotto creamy. Quinoa also has a grassy flavor and a texture that ranges from fluffy — too fluffy for risotto — to granular.
Quinoa is perfect, however, for a salad. It can be the main ingredient, or it can play alongside lettuces and other greens. Quinoa works very well as a pilaf, but think about adding vegetables that will complement its grassy flavor. I often add cooked quinoa to baked goods like muffins and breads, and this week I added it to my son’s habitual whole-wheat buttermilk pancakes.
Here are five great ways to cook with quinoa.
Read on here.
