Quinoa, uncooked

Quinoa cooks up light and fluffy with a slight crunch and mild, nutty flavor, and it is used much like a grain in pilafs, grain bowls, tabbouleh-style salads, stuffed peppers or squash, and as a side dish in place of rice or couscous. Rinsing the dry seeds before cooking removes their natural bitter coating, and the same seeds can be toasted in a dry pan before simmering to deepen their nuttiness, or ground into flour for gluten-free baking and pancakes.

Buy quinoa in sealed bags or from bulk bins, checking that the seeds look uniform and dry, and store it in an airtight container in a cool pantry, where it keeps well for a long time before cooking. Cooked, the small seeds separate into distinct grains with a visible curled germ, unlike the mushier texture of overcooked rice. Uncooked, quinoa delivers 14.1g protein and 7g fiber per 100g along with 47% of the Daily Value for magnesium, so a cooked batch made from this dry measure works well as the base of a vegetarian main dish rather than only a side, especially when combined with beans or a fried egg for a more complete meal, and its neutral flavor lets it take on whatever dressing or spice blend a dish calls for.