The Quinoa [Keen-Wah] Cook Book

INTRODUCTION

Quinoa, like bacon-wrapped scallops in the 1980s and kale in the very recent past, is enjoying its moment in the culinary limelight. Because quinoa seeds (yes, while we tend to think of quinoa as a grain, it’s actually a hardy grasslike plant, and we consume its seeds) are naturally gluten-free, it’s become a go-to staple grain for the gluten-free community. It’s also become a go-to staple for vegetarians, vegans, and healthy eaters of every stripe, as it’s a great source of plant-based protein: quinoa contains about 8 grams of protein per (cooked) cup. It also offers a nice dose of amino acids, protein, vitamin E, antioxidants, iron, magnesium, calcium, and potassium, and it’s a complex carbohydrate, which means that it offers a slow and sustained source of energy. In layman’s terms: eat quinoa and you’ll feel fuller for longer.

Because quinoa is such a nutrient-dense food, there is certainly some health benefit to cooking with it regularly. The book that you hold in your hands, however, is not a gluten-free, fat-free, meat-free, dairy-free, or sugar-free cookbook. It’s a collection of recipes that utilize quinoa in savory and sweet applications, substituting it—as a grain and as a flour, in puffs and in flakes—for other commonly-used ingredients like all-purpose flour and rice. My goal is to show you just how delicious and versatile quinoa can be. That being said, there are a number of recipes in the book that are gluten-free and can be modified to be dairy-free, vegetarian, and even vegan.

You will also find in these pages some less-than-in-the-limelight ingredients, including grains, dairy products, animal protein, and a bit of sugar. Why would I do such a thing, you ask? Let me state for the record: I am not a nutritionist. But I have been working in the food industry long enough to observe that diets and eating trends come and go, and my personal belief is that the fundamentals of a well-rounded diet remain the same: eat lots of fresh fruits and vegetables; avoid packaged, canned, overly-processed junk; drink lots of water; exercise portion control; and exercise your body. Oh, and eat food that tastes good. Because guess what? Eating iceberg lettuce, carrot sticks, steamed broccoli, cabbage soup, and heck—quinoa—three times a day is not a sustainable plan. You’ll get tired of it. Your taste buds will get tired of it. And the next thing you know, you’ll find yourself elbow-deep in a bag of potato chips, scraping away at the waxy bottom of a pint of cookies ’n cream, or two tacos into a drive-through fiesta. I think we can all agree that these are not ideal nutritional or culinary scenarios.

The recipes in this book are well-rounded and flavorful. They contain fat—yes, fat, which your body (and especially your brain) needs in order to function—such as olive and vegetable oils, grass-fed butter, schmaltz (more on that soon), and lard. In addition to being a necessary part of your diet, fats—along with acid and salt—balance out recipes. Put more simply, fats = flavor. That’s why all those fat-free foods of the nineties were loaded with sugar and injected with chemically-altered fats and artificial flavorings. Not healthy, not tasty, and not filling. So you can expect to see some fats here—real ones that occur in nature, not fake ones that were created in a laboratory. You’ll like what you eat and eat what you like (including tacos!), and you won’t feel the need to binge on something bad an hour after you’ve finished your meal.

In short, this book offers you a variety of different ways to enjoy one of the healthiest foods around. But please . . . don’t call this a health food book.

1 Setting Up

Most of the recipes in this book don’t require any specialized cooking equipment, but before we get started, let’s take a look at the kitchen tools you’ll use most frequently. The recipes specify what you will need—skillet, pot, baking sheet, and baking pan sizes are all listed in the instructions. It is important to follow those instructions because cooking time, flavor, texture, and the overall success of the recipes can be adversely affected when you don’t use the right equipment. Not to fear—nothing here is weird or too high-tech. Let’s take a look at the basics for quinoa cooking (and really, any cooking) success.

Kitchen Tools

BAKING PANS: Pan sizes will always be specified in recipes. It is important that the specified pans are used to ensure a baked good that is properly cooked and yields the stated amount.

BAKING SHEETS, LINERS, AND COOLING RACKS: Rimmed baking sheets are used for everything from baking cookies to roasting vegetables. The rim prevents anything from spilling over or sliding off the sheet. You want to use sheets that are 18 x 13 inches. Lining baking sheets prevents food from sticking. Parchment paper greased with cooking spray, oil, or butter and silicone baking mats are options. Some recipes will call for foil: this is mostly to make cleaning up easier. Cooling racks should be about the size of the baking sheets. Items will be cooled in their cooking vessels and occasionally turned out directly onto a cooling rack to cool completely.

CANDY AND MEAT THERMOMETERS: Use a candy thermometer to gauge the temperature of caramel for brittle and toffee recipes and a meat thermometer to check the internal temperature of pork, chicken, and beef. These are two different gadgets; they are not interchangeable.

COLANDER, STRAINERS, AND FINE-MESH SIEVES: You will need all of these. Colanders are used for draining items like blanched vegetables and pasta. Strainers and fine-mesh sieves are used extensively throughout the book, as quinoa is almost always rinsed or drained at some stage of cooking.

COOKING UTENSILS: Wooden cooking spoons will be of use to you in everything from cast-iron skillets to mixing bowls. Metal spatulas shouldn’t be used in nonstick skillets as they can scratch the coating. Use them instead to scrape off bits from the bottom of stainless steel skillets and for turning items during cooking. Plastic spatulas should be used when turning items cooked in a nonstick skillet, like Fresh Raspberry–Quinoa Pancakes. Slotted spoons are used to remove items from liquid cooking elements, such as oil. You can also use a spider—composed of a long wooden handle with a flat wire basket at one end—for this purpose. Rubber spatulas should be heatproof so you can use them while cooking in pots and pans. Keep standard-size rubber spatulas on hand for stirring batters and scraping the bottoms and sides of mixing bowls and food processor bowls. Narrow and miniature rubber spatulas are handy for scraping ingredients out of small-mouthed jars and containers. Tongs are about 12 inches long and are used in numerous recipes. Avoid using extra-long grilling tongs in the kitchen; they’re unwieldy and will make it difficult to handle food. Narrow, long whisks are great for whisking sauces, while large balloon whisks are better suited for beating cream and egg whites to soft peaks.

CUTTING BOARDS: Plastic or wood are acceptable. Always stabilize your cutting board to prevent it from slipping and sliding during prepping. Line the bottom of the board with a damp kitchen rag (don’t use anything too thick, like a bathroom hand towel) or paper towels. Alternatively, use rubber grip mats, the sort used for lining drawers.

FOOD PROCESSOR, BLENDER, AND ELECTRIC HAND MIXER OR STAND MIXER: A number of recipes call for either a food processor or a blender. If one can be substituted for the other, it will be noted; otherwise go with what the recipe suggests. Mixers are used in some baking recipes, such as the icing in Brown Butter Quinoa Carrot Cake—you can use a stand mixer or a handheld one.

GRATERS: Grated cheese and other ingredients like potatoes in the Quinoa–Potato Latkes rely on a box grater, but a microplane or other very fine grater is necessary for finely grating ingredients like citrus zest, ginger, and Parmesan cheese.

KNIVES: A standard chef’s knife should have a blade about 8 inches long. This all-purpose knife should be used to cut, slice, and chop vegetables, fruits, herbs, and animal proteins. Keep your knives sharp for more efficient use and to avoid injury. A paring knife’s blade is 3 to 4 inches in length. Keep this on hand to cut and trim smaller food items. Dinner knives can be used to cut butter into flour in recipes like Gluten-Free Fluffy Drop Biscuits.

MEASURING CUPS, SPOONS, AND SCALES: These are all must-haves, especially for baking. Keep a set of dry measuring cups, a liquid measuring cup, and measuring spoons handy. When scooping dry ingredients like flour, dip the cup or measuring spoon into the flour and use a dinner knife to scrape off the top for a level measure. This dip-and-sweep method is no-fail. All ingredients in this book have been measured and weighed, so you can opt to use cup measures or weigh them.

OVEN MITTS AND KITCHEN TOWELS: Keep your hands safe by using oven mitts. Clean kitchen rags or towels are another option. Never use a wet mitt or rag.

POTS AND SAUCEPANS: The recipes will detail the size that you need. A 4- to 6-quart (10 inches or more in diameter) Dutch oven or other heavy-bottomed pot is the most frequently called for size for soups and stews. In general, an enameled cast-iron Dutch oven is one of the most useful items in the kitchen, as it can be used for anything from cooking pasta to making soup to braising large cuts of meat. Saucepans should be heavy-bottomed, especially for making brittles. Large ones are 6 quarts in capacity, 8 inches in diameter, and about 6 inches tall. The height of the saucepan is crucial in recipes like Quinoa, Peanut, and Roasted Seaweed Brittle because the mixture tends to bubble and sputter. Medium saucepans can hold 2 quarts and are 6 inches in diameter and about 5 inches tall. Small saucepans are 2 quarts or less in capacity, 6 inches in diameter, and about 4 inches tall. These small ones are used most often to melt butter or heat oil with aromatics. Avoid using skillets or saucepans with dark bottoms when browning butter or making caramel: it will make it difficult to discern color changes.

SKILLETS: When a stainless steel skillet is called for, the recipe will say skillet. If a nonstick skillet is required, it will be specified in the recipe. Large skillets are 12 inches in diameter, medium skillets are 10 inches, and small skillets are 8 inches. Oven-safe simply means that the handle should not be rubber or plastic. A cast-iron skillet is called for only once in this book (Quinoa Corn Bread with Roasted Poblanos and Ham) and as an option for toasting chiles. While it can be substituted with a stainless steel skillet, a cast-iron skillet is a useful kitchen tool. Grill pans are used infrequently in this book, and you can go with a cast-iron or nonstick version. Of course, you can always cook on an outdoor grill if you prefer.

Frequently Used Ingredients

Onions, garlic, olive and vegetable oil, parsley, and of course, quinoa, are just a handful of the ingredients that you will use time and again in this book. Each recipe offers specific instructions on how to prepare them. Let’s take a quick look at the foods you will be using most often