Quinoa - The Passover Solution

Quinoa (keeeen-wa) has been in the food media for quite some time. It's been hyped up to be a “superfood”, great for vegetarians and vegans, coeliacs and pretty much anyone. I would have to agree that it certainly is a healthy grain to be consuming. However, what I am more excited about is the introduction of this new food source to the Passover diet.  As an Ashkenazi Jew, for as long as I can remember the only two sources of carbohydrates we eat each year for Pesach are: Potatoes and Matzah. And if you want to count potato starch and the plethora of try-hard baked goods that include potato flour or ground up Matzah. The Sephardim know what they're doing by including other grains like rice, corn, peas, beans, lentils and legumes. But alas, we must complain no more – because now we can all merrily eat this super grain – quinoa! Hip-Hip-Hooray! Thank you South America.

* Please note - not everyone agrees that this is acceptable, as with all things Jewish, it continues to be controversial.

Where does quinoa come from you ask? I will tell you.

It originated about 3000 years ago by the Incas (Indigenous South Americans), where the crop was thought to be sacred. It was known as chisaya mama – or “mother of all grains”. Then it got the boot. When the Spanish invaded South America, they mocked the grain and called it “food for the Indians”. They forbid the cultivation of the grain and the Incas were forced to grow wheat instead. Look how far we have come since then.

Grain (uncooked)	Fat (per 100g)	Protein (per 100g)	Calories (per 100g)	Fibre (per 100g)
Quinoa	6g	14.1g	368	7g
Rice (white)	0.5g	6.3g	351	0.7g
Rice (brown)	2.4g	7.2g	368	3.2g
Couscous	0.6g	11.6g	357	5g
Buckwheat	2.7g	11.7g	361	10.3g
Barley (pearl)	2.4g	8g	325	11.7g

This is a table comparing quinoa to a few other grains that would be used in a similar way. Ironically quinoa is technically a seed of the Chenopodium or Goosefoot plant (I also never knew such a plant existed).  Calories between them all are pretty similar. While quinoa does have the highest fat content, it contains the good fat that helps lower bad cholesterol. Not only does it have the highest amount of protein compared to the other grains, it contains the best quality protein. Best quality, meaning it has essential amino acids which are usually obtained from protein foods like meat, eggs and dairy. It also has good amounts of calcium, iron, magnesium and phosphorus and high in fibre. In a word – it’s good stuff (even if you don’t agree with the word “superfood”). There are a few different varieties of quinoa that come in different colours – giving them all a slightly different nutrient profile.

A lot of people get turned off quinoa because they don’t know how to prepare it. It ain’t that hard. The first thing to remember is to rinse it before cooking to remove the bitter coating (saponin). Even though the manufacturing process usually removes this coating, there is sometimes still a bit of a bitter residue. The rest is similar to rice – for every 1 cup of quinoa, add 1 ¼ cups of boiling water. Cover, reduce the heat, and simmer for 10-12 minutes. Let it stand for 5 minutes and fluff. The end! You can serve it hot or cold. It has a really interesting nutty/grainy flavour. Try it in a salad, or with roast vegetables, with fish, as a stuffing, in a stir fry, veggie burgers, tofu, nuts, on its own with spices or even served as a kind of porridge with cooked fruit, nuts and cinnamon. 

Or maybe with Maror?