This flavorful Quinoa Recipe and Peas: A Flavorful Recipe is a twist on the Caribbean favourite of Rice and Peas. The whole family will love this tasty rice and peas alternative.
Rice is great, Caribbean coconut rice and peas who can argue this delicious combination. But who wants to have rice and peas all the time? Sometimes you need an alternative to break up the mundane or try some new combination. Quinoa and peas is that perfect alternative.
WHAT IS QUINOA?
While quinoa (pronounced KEEN-wah) is commonly considered a grain it is technically a seed from the amaranthaceae family. Had to look that up myself, I thought it was a grain like everyone else. While it’s been popular only for a short time in certain geographic areas, it’s been cultivated in South America for centuries and grows near the Andes. In fact up 90% of the world’s supply of quinoa is from Peru and Bolivia in South America.
You can usually find quinoa near the rice section of most grocery or health food stores. It does tend to run a bit higher in price than rice or other staples. Like I said this is an alternative to rice that you likely wouldn’t eat everyday. You can can also find quinoa in a few different colours I prefer red or multi-coloured when shopping.
NUTRITIONAL VALUE OF QUINOA
Quinoa is packed full of nutrition with a high amount of protein, fiber, minerals and vitamins. It provides vitamins such as manganese, folate and magnesium. One cup of quinoa has over 220 calories, 8 grams of protein and 5 grams of fiber.
HOW TO COOK COCONUT QUINOA PEAS?
Quinoa is very easy to prepare, the most important thing to know is the ratio of quinoa to liquid. This has a big impact on the cook time and fluffiness. For this quinoa peas recipe I determined the best ratio is two parts liquid to one part quinoa. In this recipe we will use two cups of quinoa and four cups of liquid. Feel free to adjust ratio if using more or less quinoa.
Quinoa And Peas
This flavorful quinoa and peas is a twist on the Caribbean favourite of Rice and Peas. The whole family will love this tasty rice and peas alternative.
- 1 Cup Coconut Milk
- 2 Cup Quinoa
- 3 Cups Vegetable Broth or Water
- 1 Cup Cooked Peas i.e. Pigeon, Kidney
- 1 Small Onion (Diced)
- 1 Scotch Bonnet Pepper
- 1 Scallion
- 3 Thyme
- 2 Garlic Cloves
- 1 Teaspoon Salt
- 1 Teaspoon Garlic Powder
- 1 Teaspoon Black Pepper
Prepare Peas
Cook Peas until near tender or use canned peas.
Quinoa
In large pot bring vegetable broth (or water) and coconut milk to a boil.
Add cooked peas.
Add scallion, thyme, scotch bonnet pepper, garlic and onions.
Add seasoning to taste i.e. salt, black pepper, onion powder/garlic powder.
Taste and adjust seasoning if needed.
Add quinoa and stir.
Cover and boil on medium high for 5-10 minutes or until liquid evaporates to same level as quinoa. Stir frequently to prevent from sticking to bottom of pot.
Set heat to low and allow quinoa to slowly cook and liquid to evaporate. Stir occasionally.
Quinoa should be ready after 20-25 minutes
Allow to sit uncovered for 5 minutes
Share and enjoy!!!
If possible try to rinse your quinoa before usage using a fine gran mesh strainer. Standard size strainers wouldn’t work as these are very fine grains.
Quinoa Recipe with Peas: A Twist on Rice and Peas
This flavorful quinoa and peas is a twist on the Caribbean favourite of Rice and Peas. The whole family will love this tasty rice and peas alternative.
Ingredients
Instructions
Prepare Peas
Cook Peas until near tender or use canned peas.
Quinoa
In large pot bring vegetable broth (or water) and coconut milk to a boil.
Add cooked peas.
Add scallion, thyme, scotch bonnet pepper, garlic and onions.
Add seasoning to taste i.e. salt, black pepper, onion powder/garlic powder.
Taste and adjust seasoning if needed.
Add quinoa and stir.
Cover and boil on medium high for 5-10 minutes or until liquid evaporates to same level as quinoa. Stir frequently to prevent from sticking to bottom of pot.
Set heat to low and allow quinoa to slowly cook and liquid to evaporate. Stir occasionally.
Quinoa should be ready after 20-25 minutes
Allow to sit uncovered for 5 minutes
Share and enjoy!!!
- Amount Per Serving
- Calories 120kcal
Note
If possible try to rinse your quinoa before usage using a fine gran mesh strainer. Standard size strainers wouldn't work as these are very fine grains.
