/ Our magazine / Quinoa: what it is and how to use it in your kitchen.
/ Our magazine / Quinoa: what it is and how to use it in your kitchen.
The quinoa is a herbaceous plant known and cultivated for food purposes in distant South America, as early as the time of the Incas, who still call it chisiya mama, meaning "mother of all seeds". This somewhat evocative name actually fits well with this plant, whose seeds, when ground, produce a flour that has mainly two characteristics: it is entirely gluten-free and has a high protein content. It is precisely these two characteristics that make quinoa a true superfood, now increasingly known and widely used even in Italian kitchens.
Quinoa, due to its high starch content, is commercially presented as a grain, even though it cannot be properly classified as such; quinoa, in fact, does not belong to the Gramineae family but rather to the Chenopodiaceae family, the same as spinach or beets, for example. Therefore, it is more accurate to refer to quinoa as a pseudo-cereal that stands out among others for its high protein content and total absence of gluten.
Quinoa is rich in starch, fiber, and, if whole grain, also in magnesium and niacin. Quinoa provides a significant energy supply, mainly derived from carbohydrates, proteins, and limited amounts of lipids. The few fats it contains are mostly unsaturated, a characteristic that makes quinoa perfect for controlling levels of bad LDL cholesterol and triglycerides, thus protecting the health of the cardiovascular system as a whole.
In addition, quinoa is highly digestible since it contains many fibers, but it also contains essential minerals for the proper functioning of the body, such as phosphorus, magnesium, iron, and zinc. Due to its low caloric content, only 360 kcal per 100 grams, it is perfect to include in low-calorie, vegetarian, and vegan diets, but especially in that of celiac individuals since it is completely gluten-free. It is therefore a food rich in nutritional properties that cannot be missing from your table! Tasty, healthy, but above all, with very few calories.
To cook quinoa optimally to enjoy its full flavor, just apply a few small and simple precautions. First of all, it is essential to thoroughly rinse the seeds under abundant running water to remove the saponin, a bitter substance with an unpleasant taste that covers and protects this pseudo-cereal and which, although completely harmless to humans, is not pleasant to find on your plate.
To cook quinoa, add to a pot a quantity of water double that of the grain; once the heat is on, let the grains cook for about 10-12 minutes, until the liquid has been completely absorbed. Warning: it is strictly forbidden to drain quinoa to avoid destroying its tiny seeds. There are also some little tricks to make quinoa taste even better, such as toasting the seeds before cooking them or substituting water with broth or milk, whether plant-based or animal-based, as the cooking liquid.
Before thinking about how to cook quinoa, you first need to choose the variety you prefer. In nature, there are more than 200 varieties of quinoa, although in the market, mainly white, red, and less often, black varieties are found. The white variety has the most neutral flavor, suitable for those trying it for the first time or for preparing alternative desserts. The red variety, on the other hand, has a more pronounced taste with slight and delicate hints of hazelnut.
Quinoa can be used in the kitchen just like other grains, for preparing first courses, soups, and broths, but also to accompany as a side dish for meat or vegetables. In reality, it is a very versatile ingredient that can also be used to prepare quite unique desserts such as cakes, cookies, and even puddings. There are indeed no limits to using quinoa in cooking: it can replace small pasta in soups, be sautéed with vegetables, or cooked in the oven to create alternative casseroles or even to prepare excellent meatballs without the need for eggs or breadcrumbs. Quinoa is therefore perfect as an ingredient in both savory and sweet recipes.
The delicate flavor of quinoa particularly pairs well with legumes and vegetables, especially mushrooms and squash. Ginger, cumin, or cardamom are the spices that pair best with this food. When it comes to meat, the best combinations are with white meats, fish, and shellfish, especially shrimp. Moving to the sweet side, quinoa is sublime when paired with vanilla, chocolate, raisins, and hazelnuts.
To discover our three tasty recipes to bring this superfood to your table, read this article.
Remember: it is spelled quinoa and not chinoa because it is a name of Spanish origin. This "trick" happens because the phonetic rules of the two languages are different, and thus, to represent the same sound, they use two completely different graphemes.
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