Pantry staples: what to cook with wholegrains
Did you panic buy wholegrains? Or perhaps in a bored lockdown moment, cleaned out your pantry and excavated some forgotten but still edible impulse purchases.
During a recent Facebook live (weekdays at 1pm) I shared tips for using some wholefoods that may be lurking at the back of the cupboard.
Notes and recipes
Quinoa
Remember to always rinse well before cooking. Quinoa is actually a seed and it comes coated in its own natural insecticide. Measure the amount you want to use, place in a sieve and rub the seeds with your fingers, under running water.
Some quinoa is sold pre-rinsed but if in doubt rinse again, to avoid mild gut discomfort!
Try creamy quinoa for brekkie or as a dessert with toasted almonds. If you’re don’t like nuts, cook in coconut milk and top with dried or toasted shaved coconut.
Or orange and ginger quinoa for a warming start to the day. If you don’t have a Japanese ginger grater, use a microplane or a regular box grater over a clean cloth to make it easier to squeeze out the juice.
Prefer savoury? Try the quinoa pilaf, which is a handy one pot meal.
Tomato and quinoa soup. I picked up this clever tip many years ago from the Organic Food and Wine Deli in Melbourne. A little quinoa goes a long way and adds a bit of body to the soup.
Chia
This is a versatile seed that goes translucent when soaked. As it soaks up a lot of fluid, don’t skimp on the milk.
Chia pudding. Make sure you stir this a few times to stop it clumping before popping in the fridge.
Millet
As my friend Jane learnt the hard way – always buy hulled millet. Unhulled is only good for bird seed, you’ll never be able to cook it enough to soften.
Millet and pumpkin pilaf a simple, one pot meal.
Millet mash A surprisingly creamy and warming autumnal side dish.
Lentils
Red and green lentils are the stars of the legume world – as when cooking from scratch, you don’t need to be pre-soaked them like most beans.
Red lentils: Dhal is one of the most flexible recipes I know and regardless of the spices and other additions always tastes delicious. I tend to just use red lentil but chana dal or yellow split peas can be used to make a chunkier dhal.
Leftovers can be frozen, or add more vegetable stock to make it a soup.
Green/Puy lentils: Either cook dried lentils on the stove (1 part lentils to 2 parts water, for 20 – 30 minutes) or use canned organic lentils rinsed well in warm water. They’re great in a vegan shepherd’s pie or in a salad.
A pantry audit
This is a great time of year to clean out your pantry and take stock of what you’ve got. If this has inspired you to go further, take a look at my autumn pantry checklist to inspire your cooking during the cooler months.
Need more ideas? Check out the archive and There are more recipes in the archive and my Copy Me That collection.
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