Quinoa Salad: © .kaishin. 2009.Quinoa cooked in a basic Rice Cooker – perfect everytime :) still with a bit of crunch and slightly loose grains. Many folks make the mistake and over cook it or with too much water, and you end up loosing all the wonderful nutty/earthy flavour and texture of it. For those who are not familiar with Quinoa, here is some info from Wikipedia:
“In contemporary times, this crop has become highly appreciated for its nutritional value, as its protein content is very high (12%–18%), making it a healthful choice for vegetarians and vegans. Unlike wheat or rice (which are low in lysine), quinoa contains a balanced set of essential amino acids for humans, making it an unusually complete protein source.[3] It is a good source of dietary fiber and phosphorus and is high in magnesium and iron. Quinoa is gluten-free and considered easy to digest.”
To the cooked Quinoa, while still slightly warm, I added:
Tomato
Avocado
Bacon or Ham
Olives
Minced Onion/ yellor or red
Olive Oil
Lemon Juice
Worcestershire sauce or a little chicken bouillon
Salt & Pepper to flavour to your liking
I love quinoa. For an enhanced earthy/nutty flavour try briefly toasting the quinoa dry in a frying pan before throwing into the rice cooker. Do it over meadium heat until you hear it pop and colour has deepened a bit. You get a nice fragrance from the pan, and the quinoa comes out even more flavourful out of the rice cooker.
Alfred, that sounds really good!! what a great idea, I will give it a go :) Thanks for sharing!