Sunday, April 11, 2010

soaked quinoa with carrots, mushrooms, and fresh herbs

mmmmmm! This turned out good! The recipe was inspired by this one on the Gluten Free Goddess.

I can't remember if I've talked about soaking quinoa before.. It's important to soak quinoa for at least 12 hours. Then rinse and rinse and rinse. This removes the saponins. Saponins produce a soap-like foam in the water, and you'll know when you've rinsed the quinoa enough when the soap-like suds are gone. (fyi - saponis are found in certain plants, and their job may serve as anti-feedants, and to protect the plant against microbes and fungi. I know you have the internet too.. but - hey. Now you know) If you don't have a fine mesh strainer.. I would recommend adding one to your kitchen collection. I use mine almost everyday.

So - once you've decided the day before that you want to make this.. add your quinoa to jar and fill the rest with water. Mine sat for around 18 hours..

1 1/2 cups quinoa
water
jar

the next day..
quinoa, rinsed and strained
1 tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 cup water (If you're only making 1 cup quinoa, use 1 cup of water... etc. It needs less water than other recipes call for because it's soaked)
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 tsp salt

Pour the oil in a pot, heat over medium heat. Add the quinoa to toast a little bit. Then after a couple minutes, add the water, garlic, and salt. Simmer covered until all the liquid is evaporated (about 15 minutes.. ok actually I don't remember how long this took.. but the quinoa will be translucent, and you should be able to fluff it with a fork.)

While that's going on.. you'll need:
olive oil, as needed
1/4 red onion, diced
2 clove garlic, minced
1-2 cups sliced mushrooms
1 big carrot, chopped
Sea salt and ground pepper, to taste

Heat a tbsp or 2 of olive oil in a large skillet and over medium heat. Add the onion and carrot and stir for a minute or too. Add in the garlic; stir. Add the mushrooms. Season with sea salt and ground pepper. (Add a splash of white wine. optional) Stir and cook until the vegetables are tender.

When the quinoa is cooked, fluff with a fork and add it to the skillet mixture. Now add:

Fresh chopped parsley
Fresh chopped mint
Fresh chopped curry (I just got this plant from the farmers market.. it's an awesome addition to the standard herb garden)

Serves 4-7. (Depends whether it's a side or the main course) Enjoy!!

4 comments:

  1. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks for the advice on soaking the quinoa, I had always wanted to make it but wasn't sure how to go about it...
    For mine I roasted a bunch of asparagus chopped into 2 inch pieces and tossed it all with minced scallions, a can of white kidney beans, 1/4 cup of evoo and the juice from one lemon.
    It was delish!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Believe it or not, it is the type of information I’ve long been trying to find. It matches to my requirements a lot. Thank you for writing this information. order magic mushrooms online

    ReplyDelete