Yields 3 cups
Like many other plant-based staples, quinoa was unfamiliar to me until I became a vegetarian. I didn’t even know how it was pronounced. “Queen-wah”? “Quino-ah”? I’ve since learned that there’s a pretty heated debate around whether it’s pronounced “keen-no-wah,” “kin-wah,” or “keen-wah” (my personal preference).
But however it’s pronounced, I couldn’t live without it. These days, I gobble it up for breakfast cooked in milk and topped with fruit and cinnamon (see page 43), eat it for lunch in a salad (see page 62), or enjoy it for dinner with some vegetables and tofu. It’s a great ingredient to make on your meal-prep day and use throughout the week.
PRESSURE COOKER METHOD
Ingredients:
1 cup quinoa
1½ cups water or vegetable broth
Directions:
1. Rinse the quinoa in cold water using a fine-mesh strainer.
2. Put the quinoa and water (or broth) into the pressure cooker and cook on high pressure for 5 minutes.
3. Let the pressure out, remove the lid, and fluff the quinoa with a fork.
4. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
STOVETOP METHOD
Ingredients:
1 cup quinoa
2 cups water or vegetable broth
Directions:
1. Rinse the quinoa in cold water using a fine-mesh strainer.
2. Add the quinoa and water (or broth) to a medium pot with a lid.
3. Over high heat, bring to a boil.
4. Cover with the lid and reduce the heat to low.
5. Cook for 20 minutes.
6. Remove from the heat and fluff with a fork.
7. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
TONI’S TIPS:
>>Quinoa in its natural form has a really bitter taste. To get rid of it, use a fine-mesh strainer to rinse the quinoa. If you don’t have one, you can use a coffee filter. In a pinch, I’ve covered my regular colander with a clean kitchen towel and rinsed the quinoa over the towel. (If you’re like me when I started cooking and you have no idea what a colander is, it’s also known as a strainer, and it’s often used for draining cooked pasta.)
Quinoa can be cooked in liquids other than water. Sometimes when I want more flavor, I’ll cook it in vegetable broth or I’ll add half a bouillon cube to the water.
MY TIPS:
