Seriously good quinoa

Are you sick of rice or noodles? Why not switch to quinoa (pronounced as keen-wah)? Quinoa falls under the grain category but is often referred to as a pseudocereal as it doesn’t grow on grass like wheat and oats.

Although quinoa is a pseudocereal, it has higher nutrients than most grains and is often referred to as superfood. And since quinoa is versatile, there are many ways you can incorporate it into your favourite dishes.

So, here’s two creative and healthy recipes for you to begin with!

Recipe 1: Quinoa Salad

Ingredients

For salad:

• 1 cup Uncooked quinoa 3 tbsps Olive oil
• 1 cup Chicken broth or
• vegetable broth
• 1 cup Water
• ¼ tsp Salt
• 1 tbsps Garlic, minced
• 1 Cucumber, cubed
• 10 Cherry tomatoes, halved
• ¼ cup Cilantro, freshly
• chopped

For dressing:

• ¼ cup Fresh lime or
• lemon juice
• ¼ cup Olive oil 2 tbsps Honey
• cloves   Garlic, minced
• ½ tsp Kosher salt
• ½ tsp Ground black pepper

Method

1. Whisk salad dressing in a large bowl and set it aside.
2. Rinse quinoa in cold water then shake out excess water.
3. Heat pan on medium-low heat, add olive oil and toast quinoa for five minutes.
4. In a saucepan, add broth and water, bring to a boil and throw in the toasted quinoa, salt and garlic.
5. Cook until quinoa is tender, about 15 to 20 minutes.
6. In a large bowl, combine cooked quinoa, sliced cucumbers, halved cherry tomatoes, cilantro along with the salad dressing.
7. Ready to serve.

Recipe 2:Quinoa with baked salmon

Ingredients

• 2 Salmon fillets
• 1 cup Quinoa, uncooked 1 ¾ cup Water
• 3 tbsps Olive oil
• ½ tsp Kosher salt
• 3 cloves Garlic, minced
• 1 Red chili, halved, seeded and thinly sliced
• 4 Basil leaves, thinly sliced
• ½ tsp Kosher salt
• ¼ tsp Black pepper 
• 1 tsp Cumin
• ½ tsp Paprika

Method

1. Heat oven to 220°C for 10 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, marinate salmon with salt, pepper, cumin, paprika for 15 to 20 minutes until slightly pink in the center.
3. Rinse quinoa and drain excess water out.
4. Toast quinoa with some olive oil and add in minced garlic, sliced chili and basil in a pan over medium-high heat.
5. In a saucepan, add one cup of water and bring to a boil.
6. Add in toasted quinoa and salt into boiled water and cook until soft.
7. Remove salmon from the oven and let it rest for 5 minutes.
8. Once quinoa is ready, plate it and top it with salmon fillet.

Sources: RealSimple