Quinoa Salad
Quinoa is a very unusual grain. It actually is a seed, not a grain but since it looks like one and is eaten in the same way, it is considered grain. It comes from South America and used to be one of the main foods of Incas. In the past few years it gained a lot of fame among healthy conscious people because it’s gluten free and has a surprisingly high protein content for a grain. Vegetarians, vegans and gluten allergic people often consider it one of the staple foods in their diet.
My adventure with quinoa started pretty unsatisfactory. I was so excited to finally try it, I always am excited when trying new things, but then when I put my first bite of quinoa into my mouth, I almost spit it out. I took another bite and unfortunately my senses did not deceive me, it was extremely bitter. I had to throw it away to trash and started wondering what’s the big deal with quinoa? It’s awful, how can so many people love it? So I googled ‘why quinoa tastes bitter’ and found my answer. All I had to do was to rinse it under cold running water for a minute or so to get rid of all the bitter taste. Oh how silly, that’s what happens if you try new things but don’t read how to prepare them. I made more quinoa right after and this time my experience was very pleasant. It tasted a bit nutty and all the bitter flavor was gone. Some producers of quinoa rinse it before packaging so there’s no worry that one will have such an unsuccessful beginning with quinoa like me.
have been naturally blanched to remove the unsavory skins. Whoa, if I only knew before. Next time I’ll buy Bob’s Red Mill brand Fava beans.
