Cloudy with a Chance of Quinoa

quinoa It was the second summer day in a row of torrential rain, and my sister and I were slumped in our  chairs at the kitchen table. We were bummed, bored, and incapable of motivating ourselves.

 As I sat in a rain-induced daze, my sister went into the pantry. After a few moments, she emerged with  some weird, funky grain. Holding it up she announced, “I found quinoa! Let’s make pizza with it!”

 Skeptical of this grain I’d never heard of (it sounded pretty un-pizza like), I was fairly certain it wouldn’t  work. But with nothing else to do, I gave in to my sister’s pleas and gave it a go.

 We created the crust by pulverizing soaked quinoa, then mixing it with water and seasonings to form a dough. We spread this newly-formed dough out over a cast iron skillet and baked it for 20 minutes, flipping it halfway in between. When my sister finally pulled out the light brown, slightly crisped crust, we were pleased with the result.

We then scavenged for toppings: onion, zucchini, mushrooms, bell peppers, low-fat mozzarella cheese, and of course tomato sauce. We sautéed the vegetables and slid them over a coating of tomato sauce. We sprinkled the cheese over the pizza and then placed it back in the oven for a final five minutes.

After allowing the pizza to cool, it was the moment of truth. I chose a piece and tentatively took a bite. The crust was crispy on the outside, yet doughy on the inside. The toppings added different textures and a fresh flavor.

Success.  A little slice of heaven in the form of a healthy, low-calorie, good-for-you and incredibly delicious pizza. And my jeans still fit.

Ingredients:
1 cup of quinoa
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon crushed red pepper (optional)
Italian seasonings
½ cup of water (if you soak for less than 8 hours, you will need to add a couple extra tablespoons of water)
Tomato sauce
Mozzarella cheese
Your favorite toppings (anything goes, we used sautéed veggies)

Recipe:

1. Place quinoa in a bowl and cover with water. Let soak for 8 hours.

2. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

3. Spray cast-iron skillet with cooking spray and put in oven to heat up.

4. Drain the quinoa and put it in blender. Add seasonings and a half cup water. Blend quinoa until it resembles a thick pancake batter.

5. Remove the cast iron skillet from the oven and quickly pour the batter in, spreading it out evenly across the bottom with the back of a spoon.

6. Place the pan back in the oven and bake for ten minutes, or until the underside of the crust starts to brown and crisp. Using a large spatula, carefully flip the dough. Bake for another ten minutes.

7. Remove from the oven and top with sauce, cheese and any additional toppings. Bake for an additional five minutes.

Let cool, cut into slices, and enjoy!

–Mikaela Gilbert

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