Keen on a quinoa diet

While relatively new to the United States, quinoa has been cultivated in the Andean mountain regions of Peru, Chile and Bolivia for over 5,000 years, and it has long been a staple food in the diets of the native Indians.

In their attempts to destroy and control the South American Indians and their culture, the Spanish conquerors destroyed the fields in which quinoa was grown.

They made it illegal for the Indians to grow quinoa, with punishment including sentencing the offenders to death.

With these harsh measures, the cultivation of quinoa was all but extinguished.

Yet, this super food would not be extinguished forever. In the 1980s, two Americans, discovering the concentrated nutrition potential of quinoa, began cultivating it in Colorado.

Since then, quinoa has become more and more available as people realise that it is an exceptionally beneficial and delicious food.

Health benefits

Get the benefits of both quinoa and dairy products by serving the former with low-fat cheese.

Add crumbled feta or Parmesan cheese, some pine nuts, chopped onion and parsley to your quinoa for a tasty meal.

To ensure maximum freshness, make sure the bins containing quinoa are covered and that there is no moisture.

When deciding upon what quantity to purchase, remember quinoa expands during cooking to many times its original size.

Store quinoa in an airtight container. But if kept in the refrigerator, it will keep for a longer period, around three to six months.

Tips for cooking quinoa

Quinoa should be rinsed or soaked before cooking, as there may be residues of natural saponins on the peel.

To cook, put 1 cup of quinoa in 2 cups of water, cover and simmer until the water has been absorbed.

For a lighter, fluffier dish, cook in more water for a longer time.

Flavours such as ginger, turmeric, miso, tamari and herbs can all be added.

Quinoa can be used as an alternative to porridge, to accompany stews and casseroles, in salads and to thicken soups.

It is a great alternative for white rice or couscous. When cooked, its grains quadruple in size and become almost translucent.

Quinoa can be prepared much like rice and is great in stuffings, pilaus and breakfast cereals.

After quinoa has been cooked, the grains become translucent and the white germ partially detaches itself, appearing like a white-spiralled tail.

If you want the quinoa to have a nuttier flavour, dry-roast it before cooking.

To dry-roast, place it in a skillet over medium-low heat and stir constantly for five minutes.

Quick serving ideas

Combine cooked, chilled quinoa with pinto beans, pumpkin seeds and coriander.

Season to taste and enjoy a high-protein salad.
Add nuts and fruits to cooked quinoa and serve as breakfast porridge.

For a twist in your favourite pasta recipe, use quinoa noodles. Mixed with honey, almonds or berries, quinoa also serves as a high-protein breakfast cereal.

It is also sold as a dry product, much like cornflakes.
Again, quinoa can be made to germinate to boost its nutritional value.

This activates its enzymes and multiplies vitamin content.

Quinoa pilau

Heat oven to 180°C. Put the tomatoes on a baking sheet and drizzle with 2 tbs olive oil and some seasoning.

Roast for 15 minutes, remove and set aside.
Heat the remaining olive oil in a large pan.

Add the onion, celery, cumin and garlic; season to taste. Fry on medium heat for ten minutes until golden.

Add the rice, quinoa, dill and stock. Cover with a lid and cook for 12 to 15 minutes or until the rice is soft.

Add the tomatoes and pine nuts and gently stir through. Serve with white fish or a green salad.

Spicy quinoa

Cook the quinoa according to instructions on the packet, adding vegetable-stock cube to the water in which it is being cooked.

Leave to cool and break up clumps with a fork. Mix through remaining ingredients and serve.

Quinoa and nut roast with roasted vegetables
Servings: 2

Heat olive oil in a pan and add the sliced celery. Sauté for five minutes, add the quinoa and 2 cups of water along with the stock cube.

Simmer until most of the water has been absorbed.
Chop some vegetables for roasting, put on a tray and sprinkle with olive oil. Put in the oven at 220°C.

Add the rest of the ingredients to the quinoa and cook until you have a thick mixture.

Place in a lined 1kg loaf tin and turn down the oven to 180°C. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes.

Decoding confit d'oie: A glossary of French phrases

By Nirmal Khanna, Special to Unwind

We continue with our glossary of French phrases, which will help you decipher the menu the next time at a French restaurant.

Cassoulet: A hearty casserole mixture of goose, beans and various meats

Chantilly (Creme): Whipped cream which is sweetened, sometimes with vanilla. People claim that it was invented by the maître d'hôtel at the Chateau de Chantilly in the 17th century.

Chateaubriand: A thick fillet steak, generally served for two persons and accompanied by a Béarnaise sauce

Compote: Fruit (dried or fresh) stewed or soaked in syrup

Confit d'oie: Goose cooked in its own fat for many hours until completely tender, then stored in its own fat so air does not get in. Vegetables such as onions are also made into a confit.

Contre-filet: Cut of sirloin from above the loin on either side of the backbone, usually tied for roasting or braising

Couenne: Thick meat skin (rind) highly regarded as a flavouring ingredient for French braises, stews and soups

Coulis: Purée of raw or cooked vegetables, or fruit used as a sauce. Often used in desserts.

Crêpe: A delicate pancake

Croquettes: Patties made from ground meat, fish, fowl or vegetables bound with eggs, usually coated with breadcrumbs and deep-fried until golden brown on the outside

Croutons: Tiny cubes of bread fried till crisp. Usually used to garnish thick soups or salads.

Cuilliere: Spoon. Napper de cuilliere means thick enough to coat a spoon.

Cure: To preserve by smoking or salting

Darne: A slice of fish known as a steak. Generally refers to salmon.

Daube: A stew of a type of meat in a closed pot called a daubiere. A speciality of many regions, especially Provence.

Decant: Pour into a container, leaving the sediment behind

Deglacer: To deglaze a pan of its congealed juices and bits from browning meat by adding a liquid and stirring to add to a gravy, sauce or as its own jus

Désosser: To remove bones, for example, from leg of lamb

Dice: To cut into tiny cubes (couper en dés)

Duxelles: Minced mushrooms sautéed with shallots and finished with cream

Entrecôte: A prime cut of beef from between the ribs

Epigramme: A slice of breast of lamb fried in egg and breadcrumbs. Often served with sweet breads.

Escalope: Thin slice of veal or nowadays, fish

Escargot: Snails. Usually cooked in garlic and butter, then replaced in the shell to serve.

Estouffade: To stew a mix of meat and vegetables over gentle heat for several hours, with little liquid. Similar to étuvée.

Étuvée: Smothered. A method of cooking very slowly with only a little liquid in a tightly covered pan, with a lot of butter.

Faux-filet: Sirloin steak

Filet: Le filet is the tenderloin (or undercut of fillet) of a steak

Fines herbes: A selection of fresh or dry herbs consisting usually of chervil, parsley, tarragon and chives

Flambé: Flamed

Fois gras: The prepared liver from a fattened goose or duck

Fouetter: To beat with a fork; to whip or whisk

Frangipane: An almond pastry cream

Fricandeau: Rump of veal

Fricassée: Ingredients braised in wine or butter, with cream added

Garbure: A stew of cabbage and beans, with preserved duck, goose or turkey

Gigot: Leg, as in Gigot d'agneau, or leg of lamb

Girofle: Clove

Gras-double: Baked tripe with onions and white wine

Gratiné(e): To brown under a grill

Gros sel: Sea salt, in large, coarse grains

Hacher: To chop or mince

Haricot: A bean

Incorporer: To fold or blend in gently; to incorporate

Jarret: Knuckle

Julienne: Finely cut strips of vegetables

Jus: Clear sauce of meat juices

Macerer: To soak in a marinade

Maigre, au: Meatless dish

Mange-tout: Snow peas

Marinade: The liquid in which meats, poultry, seafood is immersed to flavour or tenderise before cooking

Marinade Cuite: Cooked marinade

Mariné: Marinated

Marmite: A small pot in which casseroles are cooked

Matelote: Fish or eel stew

Melanger: To mix

Meuniere, à la: Sauce of browned butter, lemon and parsley, generally served with fish

Mignon: A small filet

Mignonnette: Coarsely ground pepper or small cubes of beef

Mimosa: A dish garnished with chopped hardboiled egg

Mornay: A classic white sauce with cheese

Mousseline: Dishes which have been lightened by adding whipped cream or egg whites

To be concluded

— Nirmal Khanna is a UAE-based freelance writer