Spring Quinoa

2010. Spring Quinoa

Quinoa, that incredible food that has become so fashionable, appeared in my life to the months of living in Bogota. I was very curious because it was barely heard among the acquaintances, and yet no restaurant had included this cereal in their menus.

Although many people seem to know nothing, I find it interesting that this food is so versatile, because it can become a companion of any protein, you can eat it as a salad, if you are gluten intolerant, you can substitute wheat of a tabbule by the quinoa, you can integrate it in a soup or simply, eat it alone, since it is a super complete food and low in calories.

Since I discovered it, quinoa is part of my life almost weekly, and one of my favorite choices is one I called Spring Quinoa (not that I invented the name), but if the combination of the vegetables I put to transform it into a nice salad filled with color that accompanies many dishes that I cook. Here is my recipe that is easy, rich and powerful! Enjoy it!

Healthy Pre-RecipeTip: Making Nasty Comparisons: 1 cup of 186 grams of quinoa provides 160 calories, 29 grams of carbs and 6 grams of protein, compared to a cup of rice with the same 186 grams, which have 242 calories, 53.2 grams and 4.4 grams of protein. The rice is magnificent and delicious, but if you are on a diet choose the first one on the second.

The recipe for spring quinoa

Ingredients:

1 cup of quinoa of any type (my favorite is multicolored)
2 medium carrots

1 large celery stalk

6 dried tomatoes

6 pickled onions

2 tbsp of raisins

1 large and juicy lemon (if they are not juicy use 2!)

2 tbsp of olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

What do I do?

1 I start by cooking the quinoa. The portion is similar to that of rice. 2 cups owater for one quinoa. Sometimes if I want it crunchier I use 1 cup and 3/4 of water. I add a tablespoon of olive oil, then the quinoa, 1 teaspoon of salt and mix for about 20 seconds. I pour the water in the pot and let it boil, and proceed to lower the heat and leave about 20 to 30 minutes (until dry). I take out the quinoa from the pot and let it cool.

In parallel, while making the quinoa, I cut the carrot, celery, parsley, pickled onions and dried tomatoes in small pieces! As you can see here:

Once the quinoa has cooled, I take a bowl and place it in the background. I proceed to add the ingredients, as shown here:

Then I mix the quinoa until it looks like spring: colorful! And I add the lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper. Enjoy it! It’sdelicious!

Tip KNOW-IT-ALL #1: Quinoa is a word of Quechua origin and the highest production is in Peru and Bolivia.

Tip # 1: You can make your own spring quinoa yourself. Mix vegetables of different color and give life to your dish.