Never Before

I hadn't. Ever. Have you? Have you ever eaten quinoa? Pronounced KEE-no-uh. It is a grain-like crop grown primarily for its seeds. Interestingly, it is gluten-free and it is very high in protein, even though it looks and tastes very much like pasta.



Last week, I was visiting with my good friend and neighbor Karin. You remember her, her treats have made several appearances on the blog. Happily, I arrived at her house just in time for dinner. I was thrilled to be served this brand new dish, quinoa.

As I was "elegantly" stuffing my face with the lime scented grain that was mixed with beans, scallions, and fresh parsley Karin was explaining how easy the dish was to prepare. Ever since I had my first taste, I haven't stopped thinking about this round grain and all of the different ways that I could prepare it. I suppose that is what foodies do. Obsess over new ingredients. Apparently I wasn't the only one thinking of quinoa this week, I noticed it was a feature story on Gourmet.com.

I did lots of researching and found quite a few recipes that looked tempting. I didn't try any of them yet...I stuck with Karins recipe. I really, really loved the freshness of the lime flavor in her dish so I tried not to sway from her dish too far. If you have tried a quinoa dish that you love, please do share.



Ingredients
1.5 C quinoa (I bought it in the bulk aisle of the food store)
the rind and the juice of 2 limes
3 scallions chopped (both the white and the green parts)
3T of parsley chopped
1 can of black beans drained and rinced
1/2C olive oil
2T sugar
Mix all of the above together in a large bowl

In the meantime, make the quinoa.

Wash quinoa in 3 changes of cold water in a bowl, draining in a sieve each time
Cook quinoa in a medium pot of boiling salted water, uncovered for about 10 minutes. rain in sieve, then set sieve over same pot above 1 inch of simmering water (water should not touch bottom of sieve). Cover quinoa with a folded kitchen towel, then cover sieve with a lid (don’t worry if lid doesn’t fit tightly) and steam over simmering water until tender, fluffy, and dry, about 10 minutes. Stir into dressing.