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Recipes with quinoa

4 recipes that use quinoa, with photos, step-by-step instructions and cook times. The quickest, Quinotto, takes 35 minutes. It is most often cooked with garlic, vegetable stock and ají amarillo paste.

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Guiso de quinoa

High in the Quebrada de Humahuaca, where quinoa has been grown on terraces for centuries, a pot of guiso de quinoa is the sort of thing served at a comedor beside the road or in a family kitchen on a cold evening at 3,000 metres. The grain cooks in a cumin-scented broth with potato, squash and red pepper until it bursts and thickens everything into a spoonable stew, and cubes of fresh cheese go in at the end to soften. Serve it in deep bowls with a spoon of llajua or chilli sauce and bread. Skipping the rinse is the mistake that spoils it: quinoa is coated in saponins that taste soapy and bitter, so wash it until the water runs clear. Queso fresco is often made with animal rennet; use a vegetarian fresh cheese, or leave it out for a vegan stew. Chef's tip: toast the rinsed quinoa in the oil for two minutes before the liquid goes in; it brings out a nutty flavour.

50 minArgentinianCurriesGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Kispiño

Pressed in a fist so each one carries the marks of the cook's fingers, kispiño are small, dense quinoa cakes from the Puno highlands, steamed and then left to dry so they keep for weeks on journeys, herding trips and pilgrimages. Traditional ones are bound with a little lime water (from cal, the mineral) and fat; this home version uses oil and a pinch of aniseed and sugar, so they're vegan and pleasantly savoury-sweet. They're firm and chewy, a little like a grain cake, and good with hot tea, coca tea or a soup on a cold day. The common mistake is making the dough too wet, so the cakes slump in the steamer; it should feel like damp sand that holds its shape when squeezed. Ground quinoa is quinoa flour; grind your own from rinsed, dried and toasted grain, or buy it ready ground. Chef's tip: toast the ground quinoa in a dry pan first until it smells nutty, which takes away any bitterness.

55 minPeruvianBakingVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Sopa de quinua

Sopa de quinua is everyday food in the Andes, from Puno on Lake Titicaca to Cusco and Huancayo, where quinoa has been grown for thousands of years. Quinoa, potato, carrot and corn simmer in a light broth seasoned with garlic, cumin, oregano and a little ají amarillo, and the potato breaks down slightly to give body. It is light yet filling, the soup families eat at midday to warm up in cold mountain air. In Peru it is finished with huacatay, the black mint of the Andes; a mix of mint and coriander stands in well. Chef's tip: rinse the quinoa in a sieve under running water, rubbing it, until the water stops foaming; the natural saponin coating tastes bitter and soapy.

40 minPeruvianSoupsVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Quinotto

Quinotto is quinoa cooked like a risotto, a dish from the new Andean cooking of Cusco and Lima that marries Italian technique with the grain of the high Andes. Quinoa is toasted with onion and garlic, simmered in stock with white wine, then finished with mushrooms, butter, cream and grated cheese until creamy and loose. It has a pleasant pop and nutty flavour that rice never has, and a gentle warmth from ají amarillo. Serve it as a main with a green salad. Use a hard cheese made with vegetarian rennet. Chef's tip: quinoa has little starch, so the creaminess comes at the end; stir in the butter, cheese and cream off the heat and serve straight away while it still flows.

35 minPeruvianRice & GrainsGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Goes well with quinoa