I love Quinoa. Just buy a bag of the plain stuff from the wholefood section of the supermarket. I tend to start with a base of onion and garlic, then add the Quinoa and pour over veg stock. From there you can add anything you like - peppers, mushrooms, chilli, feta cubes etc etc.
A couple of my favourite high protein Quinoa recipes below if it helps:
Salmon Quinoa Burgers (makes 4)
- 16oz fresh salmon
- half an onion finely diced
- double handful of chopped kale (remove any hard stalks)
- 100g Quinoa cooked until soft
- 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 1 large egg
- Salt & pepper to season
Sauté the onion and Kale in a pan with a little oil until tender. Whizz up half the salmon in a blender and roughly chop the other half. In a bowl lightly whisk the mustard and egg, then add in the blended half of the salmon, the chopped salmon, onion, kale and quinoa. Season with salt & pepper and shape into 4 burgers. Cook them 4-5 minutes each side in a frying pan.
(You can add other things in there like red chilli, spring onions etc)
Quinoa Chicken Curry Bowls (makes 4)
- 1lb skinless chicken breast diced
- 2 tablespoons curry paste
- 2 teaspoons garam masala
- 1 onion finely diced
- 3 cloves garlic finely sliced
- 1 tin of chopped tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons tomato puree
- 1 tablespoon of ginger paste or an inch knob of fresh ginger grated
- half an aubergine peeled and diced into 1/2 inch cubes
- 6oz uncooked Quinoa
- 2 coffee mugs of chicken stock
Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a pan and sauté the onions for 2-3 minutes. Add the diced chicken, curry paste, garam masala, ginger and garlic and fry for another 3-5 minutes. Then add the tin of tomatoes, the tomato puree, the aubergine, the Quinoa and the chicken stock. Cover the simmer, stirring occasionally, until the Quinoa is tender and the chicken cooked through and season to taste with salt & pepper. Sprinkle a little fresh coriander on the top if you have it to finish. Serve as is, no need for rice as your grains are in the curry!
