quinoa milk

This recipe is dedicated to the Andean people who cultivate this wonderful seed that has many nutritional properties. There are a lot of varieties which are slowly disappearing because of the global markets preference towards white quinoa… so be careful and help to save other varieties also; white, red, grey, black… all of them are treasures for the Andine community.

Ingredients

• ½ liter of water
• 60 grams of raw quinoa well washed in running tap water
• 30 grams hazelnuts or walnuts (optional)
• 1 tablespoon of agave syrup or natural sweetener
• A pinch of cinnamon and salt

Preparation

1. Wash the quinoa thoroughly under running water.
2. We use ½ liter of water because quinoa is a little seed and it’s difficult strain it using a full liter.
3. Put all the quinoa and the hazelnuts into the filter glass and beat for 1 minute.
4. If you see that the quinoa does not blend well enough, use the highest setting on the mixer.
5. Pour the milk in a saucepan and heat it up for 10 minutes on a minimum temperature. While simmering the milk add a spoonful of cinnamon and the sweetener, and mix well.

Water temperature
You can also use hot water in the preparation (60ºC) as it always helps extract the milk from the seed. In this case, let the drink cool down before placing it in the fridge.

Tips and Alternatives

• Be sure that the quinoa you use is Fair Trade and, if possible, organic. Quinoa has recently become a bit of a fashionable cereal all over the world and its cultivation has been multiplied causing its price to skyrocket. Andean farming families can no longer buy quinoa, although they can consume it by obtaining it from their fields directly. As they have been doing for hundreds of years.
• For people who prefer to consume locally, there are alternatives to the american quinoa. Hemp seeds contain similar nutritional values and are grown all over the world.
• Of course, you can recycle the pulp as an ingredient in a homemade veggieburger, cookies, etc.