Superfood Minestras - "You Gotta Believe"

A bag of red quinoa had been sitting in my pantry since my recent run to Fairway Market in  Stamford, Connecticut. I had hesitated to cook it. Why you might ask ? Well , in the past I used to cook quinoa by pre-soaking it for about 1/2 hour, then simmering it until tender. What I did not like about it was that as it simmered , the quinoa released a filmy foam that was not pleasant to see, and that needed to be removed.

Well, today , I my friend Stephanie, provided me with a trick . Toast the quinoa in some fat, before adding the water and bringing to a boil. Well silly rabbit, trix are for kids! The trick worked, and now I can see myself using quinoa , and that bag of millet more frequently


Red Quinoa Minestra 

Red Quinoa Minestra

Ingredients 

1 lb of red quinoa 
1 large potato, diced
1 large red bell pepper , diced
1/2 pint of ripen , grape tomatoes
1/2 cup of very coarsely chopped cilantro
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced 
EVOO, S/P

Preparation  Notes
Cook the quinoa as suggested above. 3/4 of the way , add the vegetables. Just before serving, add cilantro. Serve hot.  Top with some additional EVOO

We gobbled this dish up  very quickly . It was surprisingly tasty, an unexpected delight for me and the entire fan club.

Salute!