Going against the grain

SUPERFOODS, WONDERFOODS, UNDISCOVERED gems that nobody has heard of but which are the answer to all our needs, wants, desires and hopes. Extravagant claims are the workhorses of selling, and yet here comes a grain that does little more than say: “I’m a bit unusual in that I’m not really a grain at all and I taste rather nice”.

Quinoa has been around for a long time. But while the likes of wheat, oats and barley have conquered the world, quinoa has languished. Quinoa is amino acid-rich, for which read protein-rich, and has a fluffy, creamy, slightly crunchy texture and nutty flavour.

Quinoa is not actually a grain at all but a member of the Chenopodium family (think spinach and beet). Its most common form is as a couscous-like grain that you cook in water and then dress or add to other ingredients.

Recently, Martin O’Donnell of Simply Wild sent me a package that contained not only quinoa in its couscous form, but also a quinoa pasta; quinoa mixed with lentils and carrots (the latter dried); quinoa mixed with rice, peas and sesame; a tri-coloured quinoa mix (white, red and black) and some crackers.

Quinoa was to the Incas what the spud is to us: gold. They saw it increasing the stamina of their warriors and to some degree what they observed is borne out by science. Its complete protein status means it supplies all nine amino acids (good for veggies concerned about protein intake) and it is rich in lysine, essential for tissue growth and repair.

Health benefits aside, what do you actually do with the stuff? You can mash it, make it into a custard tart, gnocchi, or papitas (a sort of South American fishcake). As we can already do these things with potatoes, instead think of grilled lamb chops with a root-vegetable and quinoa salad laced with coriander and chilli; or grilled chicken breasts served with quinoa tossed with roasted Mediterranean vegetables and spiked with a paprika-rich dressing; or sea bream marinated in thyme and lemon juice and then barbecued or grilled and served with quinoa lightly toasted with cumin and coriander seeds, the whole assembly dressed with garlic-rich tzatziki. An ancient food for modern times.

So what of the crackers and pasta? The crackers were a superior take on Ryvita, somewhat lighter in texture and made from rice and quinoa flour. They succeeded in not having that cardboard aftertaste and were particularly good with butter and marmalade. The pasta was another matter. The addition of quinoa, garlic and parsley to wheat rendered this product an attractive green, but after that I couldn’t see the point. Far better to enjoy proper pasta and leave the quinoa for another occasion.

Which was where the trio, rice and lentil mixes really came into their own. All three of these products were a delight; full-flavoured with lots of texture and the perfect foil for a venison stew on one night, an Irish stew on another occasion, and a fish and root vegetable tagine on yet another. Couscous? Maybe, but quinoa has certainly become a staple in my store cupboard.

Simply Wild products are available from The Hopsack, Nourish, Dublin Food Co-Op, Health Matters, Down to Earth and The Organic Supermarket in Dublin; Eats of Eden in Limerick; Healthwise, Morton’s and Ernie’s in Galway; Nature’s Gold in Greystones, Co Wicklow; Quay Co-Op in Cork and Yin Yang in Skibbereen.

Tel: 045-408188 for further stockists, or see www.go-organic.ie