Gluten Free Recipe of the Month: Orange Quinoa with Fruit

About Quinoa
Pronounced “keen-wa″, this delicious versatile grain was native to the Andes.  The Inca Empire cultivated quinoa for over 7, 000 years and considered it their sacred mother grain.  Perhaps due to its religious significance, Spanish conquerors reduced the grain to animal feed status and it became secondary to wheat, potatoes, and corn.  In the early 1980’s, it was first imported to the US and is now cultivated across the country as well as Canada. 

Quinoa packs a lot of nutrition for such a small grain.  It has the highest protein content and is the only grain that is a complete protein; meaning it contains all the essential amino acids.  To boot, quinoa is a great source of iron and has high levels of B vitamins, potassium, magnesium, and folic acid.  Best of all, quinoa is gluten free making it a suitable grain for celiacs.

Preparation
Be sure to rinse the quinoa in a fine mesh strainer before cooking and remove any hard debris.  Easy to prepare, quinoa can be cooked on the stovetop or baked; simply cook until the inner germ spirals out of each grain.  A little goes a long way, as 1 cup dry quinoa yields 2 ½ to 3 cups cooked.  Quinoa can be boiled like pasta, or cooked like rice using 1 and ¼ cups of water to 1 cup dry grain.  This grain can also be dry toasted before cooking to bring out its nutty flavor.

Orange Quinoa with Fruit
This delicious recipe optimizes the fruit in peak season this time of year.  Any of your favorite fruits can be used, even dried fruits if you don’t have any fresh fruit around.  This makes a great brunch or snack, and your kids are sure to love it!  The crystallized ginger is optional, some kids may not  like the taste but it helps to boost immunity and aids in digestion.  Grown ups can keep it on the side and add into their own serving for some added zing.

 1 ½ cups cooked quinoa
1 organic orange, zested and juiced (about ½ cup juice and 2 tablespoons zest)
2 tablespoons flax or other mild flavored oil
1 tablespoon mild lightly colored vinegar (golden balsamic, citrus flavored or apple cider vinegar will work)
1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
½ cup green and/or red seedless grapes; sliced
½ cup canned mandarin orange slices; drained
6-8 fresh mission figs, diced (you can also substitute ¼ dried cherries or apricots, diced)
2 tablespoons crystallized ginger (optional)

Place cooked quinoa in a medium mixing bowl.  Wash orange well before zesting to remove any dirt; add zest to quinoa.  In separate small bowl or jar with a well fitting lid; mix juice, oil, vinegar, and maple syrup well and pour over quinoa.  Using 2 forks, mix quinoa and liquid until evenly coated.   Sprinkle sliced grapes, oranges, and figs atop the quinoa.  For those who can tolerate dairy, spoon on some vanilla yogurt or whipped cream for added flavor.  Add crystallized ginger to the top if so desired. 

Yield: 2 ½ cups
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Recipe by Mum Mum’s dietitian

Tags: gluten free

This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 18th, 2008 at 6:45 pm and is filed under Baby Food & Recipes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.