Pretentious Superfood of the Month: Kaniwa

I do a quarterly order at my trusted herbs & spices retailer. Besides stocking up on staples like thyme and ground turmeric or getting the ingredients for my famous mulled wine (cloves, cinnamon, cardamom and star anise), curiosity occasionally gets the best of me and I buy something I never heard of.

With my last order I got a 500g bag of kaniwa, quinoa's lesser known cousin. 

Kaniwa - Photo Credit: Regency Spices

Just like quinoa, kaniwa apparently is a seed grown in the Andes and just recently made it to the Wholefoods shelves. What makes Kaniwa a super (pseudo- grain is its protein profile and high fibre content.

Kaniwa is much smaller than quinoa, stays quite crunchy after cooking and has a nutty flavor and less bitterness.

I cook it as a stew in a rice cooker (1.5 cups of water per cup of grain) and add tomatoes, peppers, olives, oregano, thyme, chorizo and a bit of olive oil.

Try it out. You are welcome!