Superfoods recipe: tasty quinoa with summer vegetables

The creamy, slightly crunchy texture and nutty taste of quinoa make it a great partner for sweet beans and juicy tomatoes. Top with a mild gouda cheese and serve with salad greens for a light summer meal.

Preparation: 5 minutes
Cooking: 18 minutes
Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 240 g (1 c.) quinoa
• 400 ml (1 3/4 c.) hot chicken stock
• 240 g (1 c.) baby lima beans, thawed if frozen
• 4 scallions
• 375 grams (1 2/3 c.) halved cherry tomatoes
• 30 g (2 tbsp.) olive oil
• 6 fresh basil sprigs
• 75 g (1/3 c.) gouda cheese shavings

Preparation instructions

1. Add the quinoa to a large pot with the hot stock. Cover, bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium and simmer for 10 minutes.
2. Add the baby lima beans to the pan. Cover, return to a boil and simmer for another five minutes.
3. Increase the heat and boil the mixture, uncovered, for one minute to evaporate excess stock. If any remains in the pan after this time, drain the quinoa through a fine-meshed sieve.
4. Thinly slice the scallions. Pour the oil into a serving bowl and add the scallions and tomatoes. Shred the basil leaves on top, transfer the cooked quinoa and beans to the mixture, and stir to combine.
5. Season to taste, divide among four bowls, and top with the gouda cheese shavings.

Did you know quinoa, pronounced "keen-wah," is a whole grain with a low glycemic index (GI) that produces a slow rise in blood glucose levels and may help protect against type 2 diabetes? It's also a source of magnesium, needed for healthy bones, muscle and nerve functions, and is high in protein – good news for vegetarians.

Use pearl barley if quinoa is not available. Cook barley in boiling water for 30 minutes, allowing 600 ml (2 1/2 c.) water to 250 ml (one cup) of barley.

• Use frozen soybeans instead of lima beans, adding them still-frozen to the quinoa and increasing the cooking time by two minutes.
• Use a firm-textured aged gouda, or try manchego, gruyère or a sharp cheddar.
• For a completely different flavour, use a smoked gouda or add crumbled feta.

• Quinoa is cooked when the grains burst open and you can see that the germ inside the grain has formed an opaque curl. The grains should be tender but not mushy.
• Quinoa is gluten-free, so this recipe is suitable for people with celiac disease or gluten sensitivity.
• Baby lima beans can be eaten with their skins, but you can squeeze them off to reveal the delicate bright-green legumes. Larger lima beans benefit from this, as their skins can be tough.

Each serving has 333 calories; 16 g fat; 5 g saturated fat; 35 g carbohydrates, 15 g protein and 5 g fibre.