Risotto with a Twist

I have recently discovered quinoa and it seems as thought the rest of Sydney is as well.  I visited Peru earlier this year and found that this grain is delicious and versatile - from breakfast through to dinner.

There was one dish that I tried that was a quinoa risotto and I thought that this was something that I would like to try cooking at home.  I have with some success, however I will need to experiment with seasoning to get the right combination of flavours to replicate the dish I had in Peru.  Try this unusual version of a risotto for yourself, it is a really lovely change.  And very good for you too!

One thing that I did find when cooking this dish was that the quinoa behaves very differently to rice, it does not absorb liquid in the same way that rice does.  Any liquids that you add, do so gradually.

Red Quinoa Risotto

For the risotto:
1/2 onion
1/4 leek
1/4 stick of celery
1 cup of red quinoa, rinsed

2 pinches of salt

2 cloves of garlic

1/3 cup verjuice or white wine

2 cups of vegetable stock
a small knob of butter
1/4 cup of grated parmesan cheese plus some more for garnish
1/3 cup of pouring cream
1 handful of chopped flat-leaf parsley plus a little more for garnish

For the accompanying vegetables:
1 sweet potato, cooked and mashed
1/2 zucchini, sliced and steamed

Heat the oil in a pan and add the onion, leek and celery until soft.  Add the rinsed quinoa and stir through.

Add the verjiuce and let it simmer away a little.  Add the garlic and stir through one cup of the stock.  Add more of the stock as the previous amount has cooked away.  The quinoa will cook in about 15 minutes.

When it is cooked, stir through a knob of butter, the grated parmesan and the cream.  Keep on the heat and stirring until these have melted into the quinoa and add the parsley. 

Serve topped with the sweet potato mash and zucchini, sprinkle with grated parmesan and the parsley.

Serves 2 

Warming Winter Breakfast

One thing that I have really missed since being diagnosed with Coeliac Disease is porridge.  I loved the warm creaminess of the the cooked oats smothered in sugar.  Oats are very good for you, but not for those with a gluten intolerance.

Oats in America are classed as gluten free, an error that I am relieved I picked-up on before buying a muffin one morning.  Whereas in Australia, the Coeliac Society does not list them as so.  Someone who has been diagnosed as gluten intolerant may trial eating a small amount of oats for three months and after that time have an endoscopy to see whether or not they are able to digest the oats - this is something that I am not really willing to do, hence the need for an alternative.  
More information can be found at :  http://www.coeliac.org.au/content/downloads/Oats%20Position%20Statement.pdf 

But nevertheless I have finally found a suitable, possibly even better, substitute:  quinoa flakes.  This ancient Peruvian grain, or rather seed, is perfect when cooked in milk and sprinkled with brown sugar.  

There are a number of different brands available on the market, however I have conveniently found one at my local green grocer.  I cook 1/4 cup of rolled quinoa, 1/2 cup of milk and a small pinch of salt in the microwave for about 1:45 minutes usually stopping it halfway through to stir. 
Once cooked, I sprinkle the cooked 'porridge' with a teaspoon of brown sugar allowing it to melt slightly. Then add a dash of cold milk and mix together and eat.  Breakfast is done!