Ingredient

Quinoa

Quinoa is a South American seed cooked and eaten as a grain. It cooks quickly, keeps its shape, and has a mild nutty flavour with a distinct pop to it — and it has two well-known failure modes, both easily avoided: bitterness, and coming out as a wet mass.

The bitterness, and why rinsing matters

Quinoa seeds carry a natural coating of saponins — bitter, soapy compounds that deter birds and insects. They are the reason unrinsed quinoa can taste unpleasantly bitter and faintly detergent-like.

Most quinoa sold in Britain is pre-rinsed and the packet says so. Even then, a rinse under cold running water in a fine sieve for thirty seconds costs nothing and removes the residue, and it is the difference between quinoa somebody enjoys and quinoa somebody tolerates.

You can see it working: the water runs slightly foamy at first — that is the saponin — and clears. Rub the grains between your fingers as you rinse, then drain well.

Cooking it properly

The usual complaint is soggy quinoa, and the usual cause is too much water.

1. Rinse in a fine sieve until the water runs clear and stops foaming.
2. Toast it, optionally but worthwhile — a couple of minutes in a dry pan or with a little oil until it smells nutty. This deepens the flavour considerably and helps the grains stay separate.
3. Add liquid at roughly one and a half parts to one part quinoa, by volume — noticeably less than the two-to-one many packets suggest, which is where sogginess comes from. Salt it, or use stock.
4. Bring to the boil, cover, and reduce to the lowest simmer for about fifteen minutes.
5. Take it off the heat and leave it covered for five to ten minutes without lifting the lid. This resting step absorbs the last of the liquid and is what makes it fluffy.
6. Fluff with a fork. The little white spirals separating from the grains are the germ, and they mean it is done.

The colours

White or ivory

The mildest and softest. Cooks fastest and fluffiest. The default.

Red

Firmer, chewier, nuttier, holds its shape better. The best for salads where you want distinct grains.

Black

Firmest and earthiest, with the most pronounced crunch. Takes slightly longer.

Tricolour

A mixture, which looks good and cooks unevenly because the three types take different times. Fine, but not better.

Flakes and flour

Rolled quinoa for porridge, and quinoa flour for gluten-free baking — strongly flavoured, and usually blended rather than used alone.

What to do with it

• In a grain salad, cooled, with herbs, lemon, oil and something crunchy. Its natural home, and red quinoa is best here.
• Under a stew or a curry, in place of rice.
• In a soup, as a thickener and a body, particularly in South American-style soups where it belongs.
• Toasted and scattered over a salad or a soup as a crunchy garnish — uncooked, just dry-toasted until it pops.
• In a burger or a fritter, where it binds and adds texture.
• As a breakfast porridge, cooked in milk with fruit.
• Seasoned generously. Quinoa is mild and absorbs a lot of seasoning. Cook it in stock rather than water and it improves immediately.

Common questions