Quinoa is a nutty seed from South America. Whether you're trying quinoa for the first time, or just looking for a new recipe for quinoa, this vegan recipe of quinoa, black beans, sweetcorn and cumin will make this dish a new favourite.
Black turtle beans, or simply 'black beans' for short, are especially common in Latin American cuisine. High in fibre and packed with nutrients, they're a healthy addition to any dish. If you can't find tinned black beans, use dried. Or if you prefer to use tinned, try borlotti, pinto or kidney beans in this recipe.
Altered ingredient amounts. I used one tin of black beans and chicken stock because I didn't have veggie stock on hand. I let my quinoa soak while I did my prep work, a total of about 10 minutes, and the quinoa came out soft and mushy (like a wet couscous). I think you can skip the soaking part for a firmer, "al dente" quinoa and that should taste fine. I think soaking for an hour would have turned it completely into mush. - 07 Aug 2008
Used different ingredients. Used diluted vegetable stock, added paprika and chillies. It was very good, the texture was almost indistinguishable from chilli con carne. - 25 Jun 2010
In future I would change the quantities a little, so that there is more quinoa - in terms of the recipe given, I would use 150g quinoa and add more stock. I would also probably use dilute stock, as mine turned out quite salty. That said, this is a delicious, simple recipe that I will definitely make again. - 29 Aug 2011