Perfectly Cooked Quinoa
I was about 8 or 9 years old when I was first introduced to quinoa by my mother, and I remember that because there was a pretty cool story attached to that memory. She cooked it for us one night, and we instantly fell in love. My brother and I asked for it over and over again after that first time, and she was so pleased we liked something healthy that she ended up writing to the company that we bought it from. In return, they ended up mailing us a box full! My mom, for some reason doesn’t remember any of this happening, haha, but I do and love this memory because it sounds like something I would do now.
Since I have been on a mission to eat really clean and healthy this new year, naturally quinoa is falling into my eating plan. I know this may seem like such a basic post, but sometimes it’s important to go back to the basics. Quinoa, when cooked properly, is such a tasty and extremely nutritious food. When it’s not cooked properly though, you may find it to be bland or boring, and confused about the texture – which in my opinion, should have a bit of a bite. It took me a while myself to master the perfect technique for quinoa, with a little help from my boyfriend’s mom, and I can’t wait to share it with you!
Do you see how fluffy the quinoa came out!? I use a 1:1 water to quinoa ratio and steam it to yield this result. If you search the internet, there are so many different opinions on how much water to use, but after much experimenting, this way always tastes the best. Basically what I do is bring the water, consomme, and quinoa to a gentle simmer, then cover with a paper towel, place the lid on top of the pan, lower the heat all the way, and let it steam/cook gently for about 15 minutes.
I served this quinoa last night with oven roasted portobello mushrooms, oven roasted artichoke, roasted eggplant, and raw artichoke salad (I have to post that recipe for y’all soon). Just in case you need a dinner idea for tonight! Enjoy!
- 1 cup quinoa
- 1 cup water
- 1 tsp. consomme
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. olive oil
- Begin by rinsing your quinoa really well. Fill a small saucepan with quinoa, water, salt, and consomme. Bring to a gentle simmer and cover the pot first with a paper towel, and then with the lid. Turn heat all the way down to low, and lightly simmer/steam the quinoa for 15-17 minutes, until ready. Once the quinoa is done, drizzle 1 tsp. of olive oil on top and add additional salt if desired.
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