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Quinoa Pudding

April 26, 2008

I had such high hopes for this recipe. Quinoa is a seed that seems like a grain, and is OK to eat on Passover — I have made it during the year as well. I’ve always found it to have a very mild flavor, a tiny bit nutty but mostly taking on the flavors of the other items with which it was cooked.

That was not my experience with this sweet quinoa pudding, a take on comfort food-favorite rice pudding. I noticed a strong asparagus odor while I was cooking the quinoa in the milk, and the flavor of asparagus was very pronounced even once the pudding had cooled. Asparagus? Yes, I was as confounded as you. I did some searching and found that Heidi at 101 Cookbooks once described quinoa as asparagus-like, too.

Lotus at Good Food Comes from Happy Cows sums it up:

Quinoa? Quin why not? She suggested the black quinoa, saying how yummy it was. As I was cooking it up (only 15 cook time, gotta love it) Thor asked if I was cooking broccoli. Nope. Was I cooking green beans? Nope. Was I cooking asparagus? Nope. Then we realized it was the quinoa. It smells very, uh, green while cooking.

The other times I’ve cooked quinoa it’s been in vegetable stock or water, so perhaps it was the milk that really brought out the aroma of grass. Those were savory recipes, too, whereas this one adds both sugar and honey to the mix. Quinoa is, after all, related to spinach, beets, and swiss chard: I suppose the grassy, plant-like characteristics shouldn’t surprise me.

A., who is a huge fan of rice pudding, wouldn’t taste this quinoa version. I really didn’t care for this sweet asparagus custard I’d inadvertently created, so I won’t be eating any more of it. The consistency was right-on, but I couldn’t get past the off flavor of vegetation in my dessert. I will save some for mom, however, in case she wants to try it — I have a feeling she might like it.

Note that I made a super-plain version of the original recipe, omitting the dried fruit to encourage my kids to taste it, and forgoing any spices because I only bought paprika for Passover this year.

Quinoa Pudding
Adapted from body + soul Quinoa Pudding

3/4 c. quinoa, rinsed
4 c. 1% milk
1/4 c. white sugar
1/4 c. honey
2 large eggs

In a large saucepan, mix quinoa and 3 cups of the milk together. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat. Simmer, covered, for 15 minutes or until quinoa is soft and fully cooked.

While quinoa is cooking, whisk sugar, honey, eggs, and remaining cup of milk together in a small bowl. Once quinoa is fully cooked, slowly pour egg mixture into quinoa, stirring constantly.

Raise heat slightly and cook pudding, stirring constantly, for about 5 minutes until mixture thickens (it took me 4 minutes to see the thickening begin — be patient!).

Pour pudding into a glass or ceramic dish and let cool slightly. To prevent a skin, cover surface directly with plastic wrap* and refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving. Pudding will keep in the refrigerator for up to two days.

* Choose a plastic wrap that is free of plasticizers, like Saran, which does not use PVC, BPA, or pthalates in the manufacture of its products.

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Filed under: Dessert,Holidays,Not our taste

Tags: BPA, cooking, eggs, food, grain, OK, PVC, Quinoa Pudding, recipe