How to Cook Quinoa Soup

Serves: 4-6

Preparation time: 10 mins

Cooking time: 35 mins

Ingredients needed to make Quinoa Soup:

• ¾ cup quinoa, any variety
• 3 cups spinach leaves, thinly sliced
• 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
• ½ lb Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and finely diced
• One bunch of scallions, thinly sliced
• 1/3 cup fresh cilantro leaves, roughly chopped
• 1 jalapeno, seeded and finely chopped
• 4 oz feta cheese, diced
• 2 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and finely chopped
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• Freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 8 cups water

Cooking instructions for Quinoa Soup:

• Place the quinoa in a strainer and rinse it until running cold water to wash off any excess starch in it.
• Drain and tip it into a large pot, along with 8 cups of water.
• Heat it over moderately high flame until it starts boiling and reduce it to a simmer.
• Continue to cook likewise for about 15 minutes or until the outer, white covering of the quinoa cracks to reveal the lucid beads inside.
• Pour the mixture into a fine mesh sieve to strain and transfer the quinoa to a large bowl.
• Reserve 6 cups of the quinoa cooking liquid until necessary.
• Drizzle oil in a large saucepan and heat it over moderately high flame until it shimmers.
• Throw in the jalapeno as well as garlic and sauté briskly for half a minute, stirring all the time, until the mixture becomes fragrant.
• Stir in the potatoes, along with ground cumin as well as salt and sauté further for another 3 minutes, stirring regularly, until the potatoes turn soft slightly.
• Pour in the reserved liquid and sprinkle half of the scallions over them.
• Bring it to a simmer and continue to do so for about 12 minutes or until the potatoes are cooked through.
• Stir in the cooked quinoa, along with rest of the scallions as well as spinach and continue to cook for 3 more minutes or until the spinach turns limp.
• Turn off the heat and fold in the chopped cilantro and feta cheese.
• Adjust the seasonings if necessary and ladle it into serving bowls.
• Scatter the chopped eggs on top of each serving and serve hot.

Image credit: Wikimedia Commons