Quinoa; king of grains

We love quinoa, a super-high protein & versatile grain (see wikipedia for further info). I wanted to mention today some of our favourite ways to eat quinoa.

- sometimes we cook it up with a dash of curry powder, lemon juice & zest & some water to serve hot with fish - easy & tasty side dish.

- another time I cooked it up in plain water (could use stock) & stirred it through pumpkin soup - delicious & much needed protein.

- a salad recipe we've been using for a few years, & constantly adapting to suit us, is found here.

- I recently discovered a quinoa patty recipe in our newspaper, with a bit of added herb & spice this could be truly delicious & healthy, I plan to try it again soon.

Brocolli, Bacon & Quinoa Fritters
4 rashers bacon, rind removed & chopped
2 x 400g cans white (cannellini) beans, drained, rinsed & mashed
200g steamed broccoli, finely chopped
3 cups (570g) cooked quinoa
sea salt & cracked black pepper
1/2 cup (50g) grated mozzarella
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/4 cup chopped  basil leaves
2 tablespoons olive oil
tomato chutney, to serve

Heat a non-stick frying pan over high heat. Add the bacon & cook for 3-4 minutes or until golden.
Place the mashed white bean, broccoli, quinoa, salt, pepper, mozzarella, egg, bacon & basil in a bowl & mix well.
Shape 2 tablespoons of mixture at a time into fritters & refrigerate for 20 minutes.
Heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium heat & cook the fritters, in batches, for 2-3 minutes each side or until golden.
Serve with tomato chutney & a green salad if desired.

Serves 4
*cook quinoa as per packet instructions.
(Recipe by Donna Hay in The Advertiser newspaper 25/3/2012)


Any quinoa tips you'd like to share? Let me know if you try any of my ideas!