If you’re looking to switch up your breakfast porridge and give oatmeal a break, this one’s for you. The problem with quinoa for breakfast (or at any time, to be honest), is that it takes an age to cook. To get around this, I soak it the previous night (in the fridge).
Soaking softens the grains and helps cook them down a lot easier the next morning. Another problem with grains that don’t break down very easily is that when you cook them, the liquid stays separate and the solids remain separate. The extended soaking plumps up the quinoa here, making the resulting porridge much more creamy and homogeneous than if you didn’t soak them.
Stir in some milk in the end to further enhance said creaminess and homogeneity. I personally prefer regular milk, but feel free to switch it up with other plant based alternatives. (There’s also the added benefit of reducing phytic acid in grains by soaking, if you care about that sort of thing.)
At the same time that I soak the quinoa, I also macerate the strawberries: quarter them up and toss in a bowl with maple syrup (or other sweetener of your choice). This softens the fruit and also draws out the natural sugars from them, making them 484X more flavourful.
The next morning, cook your quinoa in a pressure cooker or pot. Also simultaneously cook the strawberries with their juices in a pan. You want them to just break down and for the syrup to thicken. Both elements can be batch-cooked for the week too. It’s strawberry season, finally! Make the most of it!
QUINOA PORRIDGE WITH STRAWBERRIES
Ingredients
- ½ cup uncooked quinoa
- ½ - ¾ cup milk
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
Macerated strawberries:
- 200 grams strawberries
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup (or other sweetener of choice)
Instructions
- Do this the previous night for breakfast the next morning: rinse the quinoa. Cover with water and soak in the fridge.
- Macerated strawberries: quarter your strawberries and toss with the maple syrup. Refrigerate until ready to use in the morning.
- The next morning: drain out the soaking liquid and cook the quinoa in a pot or pressure cooker, adding as much water as necessary (follow packet instructions).
- Once the quinoa is cooked through, add enough milk to bring it to a consistency you like. Season with a pinch of salt.
- Add the strawberries and the juices from the bowl into a saucepan. Cook over medium heat until the juices thicken and the berries start to break down.
- To serve: divide the quinoa between bowls and spoon over the strawberries and syrup. Serve hot.
Notes
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