Tell me your way to prepare Quinoa

[Anonymous]

Newly diagnosed with gluten intolerance, and I would really like to make some Quinoa for some guests I'll be having over on Sunday Night....

any suggestions welcome!

[Anonymous]

bump -- how do you make it not gritty? I want to love this wonderfood, but I can't stand that sandy texture....

[Anonymous]

I make it with onion soup instead of broth. I use progresso.

[Anonymous]

I never find it sandy... what cooking method do you use? Mine is: rinse thoroughly in a fine mesh sieve, put in a pot with liquid (1 3/4 c water to 1 c quinoa), bring to a boil, cover, turn the heat down to low and cook until the liquid is fully absorbed. On my stove, this quantity usually takes between 15-20 minutes. (I have an electric cooktop) Allow to cool at least 15 minutes then fluff with a fork and serve.

Uses for the cooked quinoa: As a substitute for rice, in salads that use a grain, baked into a casserole with eggs/ cheese/ mushrooms... I find it very versatile. Look up the blog 101 Cookbooks, she has a lot of great ideas for quinoa, including a skillet bread that looks delicious.

[Anonymous]

Make sure you rinse it first! I use it for everything. You can boil it in stock if you want a richer flavor.

My kids love it with some cheese melted in.....

[Anonymous]

Yes, rinse first!

[Anonymous]

This is my favorite recipe for quinoa. http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Black-Bean-and-Tomato-Quinoa-238939 (recipe indicates to rinse with three passes)

[Anonymous]

BTW, I have some quinoa recipes that I use regularly. My favorite is:
http://iowagirleats.com/recipes/superfood-salad-with-lemon-vinaigrette/

[Anonymous]

Rinse thoroughly, pre-soak it if possible, and then cook with chicken stock.

If you don't see little "hair"s sticking out, it's not done.

[Anonymous]

I rinse it well in a mesh strainer, then I cook it with chicken broth. When it has cooled, I add chopped tomato, chopped avocado, cilantro, red onion, lime juice, cumin, salt and pepper.

I also like to instead add black olives, feta, chopped tomatoes, red wine vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper.

[Anonymous]

You can also toast it before cooking:
http://www.food.com/recipe/how-to-properly-clean-and-toast-quinoa-421986

[Anonymous]

You can buy the pre-rinsed. I like to make it in a crock pot. Prefer making rice there too.

[Anonymous]

I cook it with chicken stock then when cooled, dress it with Annie's Naturals Artichoke Parmesan salad dressing. Baby and 7 year old both love it this way. I often throw it over greens with more of the dressing.

[Anonymous]

Epicurious.com has a recipe for curried quinoa salad with mango that is great. It does use jarred chutney, not sure if that is GF or not.
They have many other quinoa recipes, not all GF but several that look good. The comments are generally pretty helpful on the site.

[Anonymous]

I find that the pressure cooker gives quinoa a much nicer texture (more fluffy, less wet) than making it in a regular pan. However, you have to make a bigger batch, at least with my pressure cooker. Like all the PPs, I rinse before cooking.
I pretty much use quinoa wherever I might otherwise use rice. Red beans and quinoa is a weekday dinner staple. I also combine store-bought Indian dishes (the kind that come in foil pouches) with quinoa 1:1 to tone down the sodium/sat fat content when I need to make a really really fast meal.
I recently made a pot of collard greens and didn't want to pitch the cooking broth but also don't like soupy vegetables, so I just threw in a bunch of (already cooked) quinoa. It was delicious and I may start making more greens-in-quinoa dishes.