Quinoa – just not lovable
Maybe I’m cranky today, but I just can’t love Quinoa (keen-wah for those of you who have not even been introduced).
I enjoy trying new gluten free flours, experimenting with where they work best. Muffins? Yeast bread? I had high hopes for this one. It has a great nutritional profile, high in protein, high in fiber and supposedly with a mild nutty taste -almost too good to be true!
It was, too good to be true that is. The flavor of the flour out of the bag (yep, I taste it “raw”) was a bit sharp and grassy, not “nutty” at all. However, I know from using bean flours that raw flour often mellows with cooking. So I tried my next test, which is to mix the four with a little water (like for a socca) and then giving it a turn on a heated fry pan in a bit of oil. The batter held up well with nothing to bind it, but after cooking the quinoa still had that grassy taste.
Now I like that “grassiness” in a good Sauvignon Blanc, but I just can’t relate it to crepes or chocolate chip cookies.
Maybe I’m just too picky, but I don’t see too many recipes out there using quinoa flour, so I’m thinking I’m not alone in thinking quinoa isn’t very lovable. Anyone out there love it? Hate it? Got a recipe that will make me change my mind?
I actually like quinoa! We like the pasta MUCH better than the rice or corn pasta. It’s far more similar to wheat pasta, IMO.
I use quinoa flour, mixed with white rice flour and few seasonings, to coat fish for homemade fishsticks. They are yummy!
And I just tried a chocolate cake recipe from the GlutenFreeGirl [recipe was in Martha Stewart Living] that combined quinoa flour, almond flour/meal, and brown rice flour. The cake was pretty good. Nice texture and good cocoa flavor. That might change your mind. I think maybe it has to be combined with other things.
I did try it once [at a gluten free cooking class] prepared as a breakfast cereal. It was cooked like oatmeal, sweetened, and peaches were added. It was pretty good. I haven’t tried it as a rice replacement type dish, but I bet it would be similar to couscous.
OK Misa, you just gave that lonely bag of quinoa flour on my counter a new lease on life! I’ll try it in a blend. I do notice that some of the flours with more *personality* do better blended with rice flour, etc. or used with herbs and/or stronger flavors like chocolate. That is a good suggestion!
Quinoa as couscous also sounds like something worth trying. I miss couscous. I’ll report back on how it goes!