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Quick and Easy Dinners 2

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Tops tips for simple and delicious quinoa salad boats

All about quinoa
Quinoa is a fairly new find for our modern society. Although it is thought to have been
around (in its cultivated form) for at least 4000 years, it has only recently gained popularity
in Western diets. Widely considered a ‘superfood’, it’s really high in protein, has all nine
essential amino acids and is packed with more fibre than other grains. It’s also gluten-free,
light and really simple to cook – an excellent alternative to heavier starches like pasta and

bread. Quinoa comes in a few different colours, so look out for the black or red variety to
add a tuft of colour to your plate.

Quinoa is versatile
Add vegetables like zucchini and corn to your quinoa base and fry them into little quinoa

cakes for a lunchtime snack. You can also prepare quinoa like you would oats for porridge:
add a little honey, stewed fruit and blackberries and you have a delicious, high-protein
breakfast.

Remember the helpful ratio

The ratio for quinoa to liquid is one part quinoa to two parts liquid. Quinoa fluffs up and
increases in size about three or four times when you cook it, so a small handful should be
enough to feed one person.

If in doubt, rinse it

Store-bought quinoa is usually pre-rinsed, but you may want to rinse it a second time
before cooking it. This will remove any traces of quinoa’s naturally bitter coating.

Flavour the quinoa with stock

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