Red and White Quinoa

Quinoa is a light, fluffy not-quite grain with a slightly nutty flavor. High in protein, quinoa (pronounced "KEEN-wah") is delicious served with chicken or fish, or anywhere else you might serve rice or couscous.

I say "not-quite grain" because quinoa is a seed, not a cereal grain like wheat or rice. Because it's a seed, it has more of a crackly bite to it than rice or couscous.

Quinoa comes in various colors, but the most common are white, red, and black. I like to use a blend of all three called "rainbow quinoa." The white type is fluffy, the red has a nice nutty flavor, and the black is extra crunchy. So the rainbow blend gives you a nice combination of flavors, textures, and colors. This recipe calls for half red quinoa and half plain quinoa, or you can use a cup of rainbow quinoa. 

One last thing: quinoa should be rinsed thoroughly before cooking it, or it could have a bitter flavor. Oddly enough, this is also because it's a seed. The bitterness is caused by a substance on the outside of the seeds which is thought to be intended as a deterrent against birds.

As a rule, manufacturers rinse the quinoa already, but just as it's always a good idea to sort your dried beans and lentils to make sure there aren't any pebbles mixed in, it can't hurt to rinse your quinoa. Simply run cool water over the uncooked quinoa in a mesh strainer while whirling the quinoa around with your fingers. The water might look slightly cloudy at first, but after a minute it'll run clear, and the quinoa is ready to cook.