Page 532 - YC Cooking School

A ratio to remember

The same formula for cooking rice applies to quinoa. All you need to remember is two parts
water to one part quinoa and you’re on your way. Also, when planning quantities, 1 cup of
dry quinoa makes about 3 cups of cooked quinoa and will easily feed four people as a salad.

How to cook quinoa

Always rinse quinoa before cooking it, as there’s often a bitter powdery coating. For best
results, start with lightly salted cold water (or chicken or vegetable stock), bring it to a
simmer and cook until the water has evaporated. This should take about 20 minutes. Then
take the pot off the heat and leave the lid on for a few minutes to allow for good steaming
and extra fluffy quinoa.

Dress it immediately
Like with barley and lentils, it's best to dress quinoa while still warm so that the flavours are
well absorbed. Start with a base dressing of good quality olive oil, and then add fresh lemon
juice or red wine vinegar. A light honey mustard dressing works nicely as well, depending on
what you are pairing it with. You can also make a creamy pesto yoghurt to serve on the side
if that sounds like your type of thing.

Cheat sheet for this lesson’s recipes

Ingredient substitutions, shortcuts and time-saving tips

1. Instead of using nectarines for the leafy salad, try out ripe peaches, roasted pears, figs
or any other stone fruit.
2. Feta cheese is a great substitute for goat cheese. If you’re not partial to the distinct
flavour it brings, you could also try gorgonzola or simple shavings of parmesan.
3. To save time, make a large batch of pesto and freeze it in ice cubes. When you next
need pesto, you’re just a few minutes away. Dilute with a little warm water or extra
olive oil and you’ll be good to go in about 10 minutes.

Learn to cook online at learn.yuppiechef.com

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