Cooking quinoa

[Thermomixer]

May also pay to cook in Reverse  with the Butterfly ? 

[zebraa]

I do it in the bowl but in all honesty, with quinoa, I find the absorption method on the stove top actually gives the best results.

[quirkycooking]

I just added the link to the Mexican Quinoa recipe - forgot to do that before! 

[Vivaroo]

Just wanted to post my success with steamed quinoa.  New to quinoa I've tried a few different ways to cook and too often I overcook and it becomes mushy porridge which isn't nice in a salad.
I pour boiled water over the quinoa in a bowl. Then go about cutting up veges whatever I'm eating. So it sits for maybe 10 mins. Then 1 litre hot tap water in TMX bowl, pumpkin etc in bottom layer of varoma, wet baking paper in top layer with drained & rinsed quinoa spread over. 17 mins varoma.Perfect, al dente, just done not mushy.  Made variation of the warm chicken, pumpkin couscous salad used at varoma demos, sans chicken & couscous.

[auds]

I bought some quinoa last week as I saw it in the shop and thought it looked interesting.

I have no idea what it is and how you cook/use it. 

any suggestions would be great

[Vivaroo]

I use it like couscous, in salads. Also as a side like rice. Quirky Jo's garlic quinoa on her blog is delicious. It's a very nutritious seed, my only complaint is the food miles, it's from Bolivia and popularity has raised the price for the local Bolivians.  Hopefully more Aussie farmers will grow it, I think it's at small scale/experimental stage at the moment.

Others will give you more cooking advice, and I await their replies.   

[Cuilidh]

Usually when I cook quinoa I make it 50 / 50 with brown rice in the basket and it seems to work pretty well.  I put the rice in first, then the quinoa on top and very little seems to drop through.

[Wonder]

I've just come back from a work trip to Peru and was surprised to see how much quinoa they eat, if I wasn't a member of this forum I wouldn't have even known what it was!

[andiesenji]

I often buy the bulk quinoa at a market that carries a great many bulk grains, flours, etc.
Their product has to be soaked and rinsed or has a bitter flavor.
The quinoa I order online, in 1-pound bags or boxes, is pre-rinsed and dried so doesn't need the soaking and rinsing.  
I keep both types on hand.
Now there are other varieties, Red quinoa and Black quinoa, that have slightly different flavors, though the difference is subtle.

I think I may have mentioned this in another topic.  

The Red quinoa has a stronger flavor that really pairs well with beans.  
The Quinoa/Black bean salad on this page really highlights the flavor and texture of the Red quinoa.

[auds]

I bought some yesterday and its white