Quinoa (keen-wah), like buckwheat, is a pseudocereal, an edible seed that isn’t classed as a grain because it doesn’t grow on a grass, and so is gluten free. Native to the Andean part of South America, quinoa is one of those foods that in recent years has been dubbed a ‘superfood’.
Not long after I saw a Country Calendar programme (video link) about a couple growing quinoa in the Taihape area, I came across a Kiwi Quinoa marketing stand in a supermarket so decided to support some young, innovative rural people and try something new. It’s also being grown in the South Island by Canterbury Quinoa.
Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa) has been cultivated for millenia and the species is thought to have been independently domesticated multiple times some 3,000-5,000 years ago. Together with corn and potatoes, quinoa was a staple to, for example, the Incas. Although early Spanish explorers returned to Europe with maize and potatoes, they did not take quinoa, perhaps because they sampled it without first removing the saponins, the bitter chemicals in the seeds that protect them against being eaten.
Britannicia goes on to say: Compared with traditional cereals, quinoa contains all nine essential amino acids, making it one of the few plant sources of complete protein. The seeds are also high in fiber and oil and are a good source of iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, zinc, copper, Vitamin E and a number of antioxidants. Read more here.
Our favourite way of eating it is at this time of the year in a warm salad by Nadia Lim. Click on the link for the recipe for her Avocado, Pumpkin and Halloumi Salad. The Kiwi Quinoa site also has heaps of recipes, for both savoury and sweet dishes.
Sandra's Garden 