Quinotto

Finely chop the onion, celery and garlic. Gently fry it in the oil and butter till it begins to soften.

Rinse the raw quinoa under a cold tap in a sieve until the water runs clear.

Once the onion, celery and garlic have sweated down and is soft (roughly about 8 minutes), add the quinoa and sauté for a few minutes. It might start bouncing around the pan, but this is fine.

Next, add the wine, bay leaf and dried mushrooms. You can use normal mushrooms if you prefer. I prefer dry because they have a more concentrated flavour and little moisture, which helps prevent making the dish too soggy.

If using fresh mushrooms, fry them first in a separate pan until browned, and retain the liquid in the pan to avoid making the quinotto too runny.

Once the wine has reduced a bit, add the stock and peas and stir well, leave to simmer for 8-10 minutes, checking every few minutes that it’s not drying out. If so, add a bit more stock.

About 2 minutes away from just being cooked, add the grated Parmesan and a teaspoon or so of butter, stirring in well.
Add the raw baby spinach and stir to allow the leaves to wilt.

You can add any vegetables you like, just make sure to par-cook anything that might require more cooking than spinach and peas.

Taste test to check the quinoa is not too undercooked and “seedy”. Bear in mind that it will still continue cooking and absorbing moisture after it’s removed from the stove, so aim for an “al dente” texture, to prevent it becoming stodgy later.

Recipe reprinted with permission of Jax of the Bushveld. To see more recipes, please click here.
 
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