Quinoa Cooked in Tomatillo Salsa (Quinoa con tomatillo)
Quinoa is a real newcomer to Mexican cuisine, but has carved out a place for itself almost as quickly in Mexico as in the United States. I cook it often, delighted with its versatility and delicate texture. When it first began being marketed outside of Peru and Bolivia, it required repeated rinsing to get rid of the naturally occurring saponins that coat each tiny seed and create a bitter aftertaste. Most quinoa now comes pre-rinsed.This recipe illustrates one of my favorite flavor-enhancing techniques: Making a cooking sauce out of a classic salsa cruda (uncooked table sauce). In this case it’s a tomatillo sauce that gives a refreshing tartness to the cooked quinoa.
Ingredients
- 8 ounces fresh tomatillos about 6 medium tomatillos
- 2 cloves garlic cut into chunks
- ½-1 teaspoon salt
- ½ medium white onion cut into chunks
- 1 jalapeño chile stem and top removed, cut into chunks
- ½ large bunch of cilantro on stems rinsed and blotted dry
- 1½ tablespoons any preferred vegetable oil
- 1 cup quinoa
- ½ cup water or chicken stock
Instructions
- Remove the husks from the tomatillos, rinse off the sticky coating, and chop coarsely. Set aside.
- Process the garlic and salt in a food processor until roughly combined. Add the onion and jalapeño and process until smooth. Add the chopped tomatillos and process until everything comes together in a sauce. Add the cilantro and process to a purée. Pour into a measuring pitcher; you should have about 1½ cups. Add a little water if necessary to make up the amount.
- Heat the oil over medium-high heat in a heavy 2-quart saucepan with a tight-fitting lid. (I use an enameled cast-iron saucepan and find that it’s ideal for transmitting the heat evenly and retaining it during the brief resting period.) Add the quinoa and cook, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes, until the grains are light golden. Add the sauce and cook for another 2 minutes, stirring once. Stir in the water or stock. Taste for salt and add a little more if desired. Cover tightly and cook over low heat for 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and let sit for 5 minutes to finish absorbing the sauce. Serve with roasted fish or poultry.