Creamy and comforting are two words that sum up this scrumptious dish. It combines the flavors of a classic cheesy French gratin with Peru’s ubiquitous grain: quinoa. We learned how to prepare this simple dish during a Latin cooking boot camp - a full day of South American cooking - at San Antonio’s Culinary Institute of America (check out all of their Food Enthusiast courses here). It’s so good you’ll want to add this twist-on-a-classic recipe to your cooking repertoire for holiday meals, dinner parties, even easy weeknight dinners. It’s definitely a crowd-pleaser!
Quinoa au Gratin (Quinoa Gratinada)
Makes 10 portions
Courtesy of the San Antonio CIA
Ingredients:
1/2 pound quinoa, soaked
2 cloves garlic
1/2 cup white onion
1/4 cup butter
3 eggs
1/2 cup Gruyere cheese
3 tablespoons Parmesan cheese, grated
1 cup cream
Salt and white pepper to taste
Directions:
Soak quinoa in hot water; rinse until the water runs clear. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and cook quinoa until the grains split, about 10 minutes. For the recipe, the quinoa should be slightly overcooked. Cool to room temperature.
Sauté onion, garlic and quinoa with butter.
Beat eggs with cream and grated cheeses.
Fold the mixture into the cooked quinoa.
Generously butter 10 ramekins, fill each with quinoa mixture, and bake at 200ºF for 20 minutes.
