A photo from the Nourishing Traditions cookbook
Serves 6-8
From the Sally Fallon Cookbook, Nourishing Traditions
INGREDIENTS
2 cups quinoa
6 cups warm filtered water plus 2 tablespoons whey, yoghurt, kefir or buttermilk
1 bunch green onions, chopped
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon annatto seeds (available in Latin American markets)
4 cups beef or chicken stock
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
3 cloves garlic, mashed
2 medium potatoes, washed and sliced
1 bunch cilantro, tied together
1/2 cup piima cream or creme fraiche
5 tablespoons cream cheese
DIRECTIONS
This authentic recipe, from a chipper centenarian living in Equador, incorporates all the basic principles for easy digestion and thorough assimilation--use of rich stock made by boiling bones for a long time, presoaking of grain and the addition of cultured cream and homemade cheese, rich in fat-soluble vitamins.
Soak quinoa in warm water mixture at least 12 hours. Rinse and drain well. Saute annatto seeds in oil for several minutes, or until oil turns yellow, and remove with a slotted spoon. Saute onions in the same oil, adding garlic at the last minute. Add quinoa and stock and bring a boil. Skim, reduce heat, cover and simmer for I hour more on very low heat. About 1/2 hour before serving, stir in the potatoes and salt. About 10 minutes before serving, add cilantro. To serve, remove cilantro and stir in cultured cream and cheese.
NOTE FROM SALLY
Quinoa is a staple food of the Incas and the Indians in Peru, Ecuador and Bolivia. During his pioneering investigations in the 1930's, Weston Price noted that the Indians of the Andes mountains valued gruel made of quinoa for nursing mothers. Quinoa contains 16 to 20 percent protein and is high in cystine, lysine and methionine-amino acids that tend to be low in other grains. It contains iron, calcium and phosphorus, B vitamins and vitamin E,and is relatively high in fat. Like all grains, quinoa contains antin utrients and therefore requires a long soaking as part of the preparation process. SWF