Quinoa with Coconut Milk and Pineapple
Quinoa is so versatile that it can even be prepared as a dessert. When cooked like a tasty rice pudding, there's hardly any need to change the recipe. The texture is different, as is the flavor, but it's a delicious and much healthier alternative.
One of the wonderful qualities of this seed is that it pairs beautifully with a wide variety of flavors and aromas, especially dairy and fruit. That's why I decided to make this dessert using coconut milk and fresh pineapple.
If you find good mangoes, use them without hesitation. Actually, they would have been my favorite fruit, but pineapples are incredibly sweet this time of year, and they have an unbeatable flavor and aroma.
- 1 cup of quinoa, well washed
- 2 1/2 cups of water
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 3 cloves
- 4 sheet peppers
- Pinch of salt
- 1 can of coconut milk
- 1 can of condensed milk
- 2 cups of chopped pineapple
- 2 tablespoons of sugar
- ½ teaspoon of ground cinnamon
- Fresh coconut, sliced thinly (optional)
- In a saucepan over medium-high heat, cook quinoa with water, cinnamon stick, cloves, lemon peel, and salt, until quinoa is very soft and the water has evaporated (around 15-20 minutes since the water boils).
- Lower the heat. Add sweetened condensed milk, coconut milk, and continue cooking, stirring every now and then. It should have a creamy consistency. Turn off the heat, transfer the cooked quinoa to a container, sprinkle with powdered cinnamon, let cool, and put in the fridge -covered- until ready to serve.
- To cook the pineapple:
- In a sautée pan over high heat, melt the butter, add pineapple, cinnamon stick, and sugar. Cook for 5 minutes or until everything is juicy and looks cooked. Turn off the heat. Reserve the pineapple.
- To serve:
- In wine, champagne or martini glasses, pour a little quinoa, then a tablespoon of pineapple, and keep making layers. Finish with pineapple and garnish with squares of fresh coconut.
- Serve at once.
