British Red Quinoa

What Is Quinoa?

Quinoa (pronounced KEEN-wah) is a small, ancient grain. It has been a staple food in the Andes for thousands of years.

Technically, it isn’t a grain, but a seed from goosefoot. Quinoa has a nutty flavour and is slightly chewy when cooked. It makes an excellent side dish or a crunchy addition to salads.

Unlike cereal grains, quinoa is one of the few plants sufficiently high in all nine essential amino acids our bodies can't make on their own to be considered a 'complete protein'.

This Somerset-grown red quinoa has a slightly stronger flavour and crunch than the other colours. It is a bit heartier and chewier and takes slightly longer to cook.

Cooking Red Quinoa

I recommend thoroughly rinsing before cooking to remove its outer coating (called saponin). If not rinsed, this can leave a bitter and soapy taste once the quinoa is cooked. 

Use quinoa in the way that you would for rice, couscous, pilafs, barley etc. 

To cook, just prepare as if it were rice - cover with water or vegetable broth and simmer over medium heat until soft, about 12 minutes, giving it a couple quick stirs. Then just add some veggies and a dressing to make an easy quinoa salad, or swap out white rice for quinoa to serve with any kind of vegetable stir-fry or substitute it in any fried rice dish. Quinoa also makes a great hot breakfast cereal, similar to oatmeal.

For a fast and simple side dish, drizzle over some olive oil, sea salt and lemon juice or a bit of garlic and add a touch of nutritional yeast or parmesan cheese.

If you cook a little extra, pop it into an airtight container in the fridge or freezer, and you'll have some ready to toss it into any dish for added texture and nutrition.