Quinoa Pilaf

Taste of Home Simply Tempting, October 2010, p. 12

1 medium onion, chopped

1 medium carrot, finely chopped

1 teaspoon olive oil

1 garlic clove, minced

1 can (14 ½ ounces) reduced-sodium chicken broth or vegetable broth

¼ cup water

¼ teaspoon salt

1 cup quinoa, rinsed

Onion duel. I won.

If you don't rinse quinoa, you leave it coated in some sort of bitter-tasting dust. Which raises the question of why people decided that this would be a good thing to eat.

In a small nonstick saucepan coated with cooking spray, cook onion and carrot in oil for 2-3 minutes or until crisp-tender. 

A little onion goes a long way.

Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Stir in the broth, water and salt; bring to a boil.

Soup!

Stir in the quinoa; return to a boil. 

Soup with pebbles!

Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 12-15 minutes or until the liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat; let quinoa stand for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork.

It's the same principle as rice - the grains absorb water and get all puffed up.

Note: If using vegetable broth in place of chicken broth, omit the salt.

Fluffeh food.

My Rating: 3/5 "Quinoa is neat. It's kind of crunchy, but it also bursts a little in your mouth when you chew it. This concoction has an overall mild, pleasant flavor that makes it a useful side dish (although a boring main course)."