Today’s recipe relies heavily on a number of ingredients it appears quite a few people dislike – quinoa, coriander and celery.
Quinoa is a gluten-free pseudo-grain from South America. People say it’s nutty but to my buds its averagely bland, with a pleasant granular texture. I like its appearance when cooked – transluscent beads, with a white tail or ring, like miniature little saturns.
Celery is far more interesting cooked than raw. My mother roasts it and I like it both braised and stir-fried. So even if you hate it in salads or stuck into a bloody Mary, try it in other forms if you haven’t already. If you can’t stick it, replace here with a fennel bulb.
Coriander is a lovely citrus-y fragrant herb – but if you hate that as well you can always use parsley instead.
Ingredients (for 2)
150-200g quinoa
150-200g cooked prawns
2 small carrots
2 sticks celery (or a fennel bulb)
1 small onion
2 tsp bouillon powder
1 lime
Lots of fresh coriander (or parsley)
Rinse and drain the quinoa then tip into a saucepan along with all the vegetables, chopped small. Add enough water to submerge the ingredients and add bouillon powder. Bring to a simmer and cook, adding more water as it’s absorbed or boils off. When the quinoa starts to change appearance and go transluscent, add the prawns and continue to cook until the white germs of the quinoa are detaching and the water has all been absorbed. Remove from eat and add juice (and some cells) of one lime and stir in lots of chopped coriander or parsley. Serve.
This is the first recipe I ever tried with quinoa, and although I sort of made it up myself, it was heavily influenced by Michelle at Foods Matter, a big fan of quinoa and coriander (and lentils and okra…) whose recipes are always imaginative and well worth trying. There's an interesting looking quinoa, courgette and okra one there at the moment...
To learn more about Coeliac UK's Gluten-free Challenge, click here.Labels: Coeliac Awareness Week, Gluten Free Challenge
