Quinoa soup is becoming a very popular dish and is turning up everywhere from cafes to fine dining restaurants. If you’ve seen this dish listed on a sign or on a menu, but wondered what it was exactly, read on to find out just what’s inside of quinoa soup.
Quinoa – While many aspects of quinoa soup recipes change from chef to chef and from restaurant to restaurant, they all naturally contain quinoa. This seed is rich in amino acids and protein and is often mistakenly dubbed a grain because of its many nutritious properties. In quinoa soup, the quinoa will look like beads that are larger than cous cous and rounder than rice.
Broth or stock – All quinoa soup will have some type of broth or stock as its base. Most commonly, you’ll find chicken stock combined with quinoa for traditional recipes and vegetable stock used as the base for vegetarian recipes; however, beef and pork stocks can also be used to make delicious quinoa soup. Most quinoa soup broth is clear, meaning that cream is not added to the recipe.
Protein – Even though quinoa is an excellent source of protein, most quinoa soup recipes will usually include a second protein source to make the soup filling and thick. Chicken is a very common protein for quinoa soup, but tofu, pork, beef and lamb are also used in recipes.
Vegetables and Legumes – Nearly all quinoa soup recipes include some form of vegetables. Sweet potatoes, onions, peppers and tomatoes are all frequently included in quinoa soup. You’ll also find many recipes that incorporate legumes like lentils and white beans.
Basically, the term “quinoa soup” can be used to describe any soup that has quinoa in it. Since the seed is so versatile, you can use it in place of rice, noodles and grains in virtually any of your favourite recipes and transform them to quinoa soup
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