I have been making a bunch of rice lately. But fall is in the air. The leaves are changing. It's been raining.. And I am breaking out the skeleton bones, ghosts, and ghouls. But I also have the last of my peppers still ripening! And am quite excited about apples with homegrown red chilis. I know that these are virtually impossible to find fresh in the grocery store or even farmer's markets because they tend to shrivel on the plant and do much better as a dried pepper. But I absolutely adore them! And you can substitute jalapeños, seranos, and any pepper of choice. Also, who doesn't like walnuts and apples quinoa?
I'm quite fond of adding walnuts to quinoa. It has a naturally kind of bitter and nutty flavor. So, playing it up with nuts and balancing it out with apples is a great combination.
I also ended up using this quinoa with ahi tuna steaks, so I added tamari and apple cider vinegar. I would ordinarily put rice vinegar in my quinoa for more of an Asian-style flare, but apple cider vinegar seemed fitting with the apples already on the quinoa! And was great.
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Variations of Walnuts & Apples Quinoa
There are plenty of things that I like to put in quinoa, from other fruits and vegetables to tamari, tahini, and rice vinegar. Sweet potatoes and rice vinegar are my go-to. It's a great Asian-inspired twist on quinoa and plays up the slightly bitter and nutty flavor of quinoa, which is my absolute favorite. So, mixing that up with apples and apple cider vinegar is well within my wheelhouse and quite similar to a number of other recipes that to pull inspiration from.
This walnut and apples quinoa combines fresh apples, homegrown red chilis, apple cider vinegar, tamari, and fall favorite spices. I used yellow onion, garlic, cumin, coriander, nutmeg, tamari, apple cider vinegar, and walnuts. Although you can easily mix and match in your own favorite produce and spice blends. Apples, chili peppers, and walnuts give a quintessential fall taste without going so far as the pumpkin spice lattes. Quinoa is also delicious with pumpkin and other squash in it, though. So, maybe they are onto something. I still wouldn't put coffee in it, but perhaps they're onto something! I could see myself putting chocolate in quinoa at some point.
Add all of the ingredients, except for the tamari, apple cider vinegar, and walnuts, into a rice cooker. I like to start with the larger produce and then add the smaller ingredients. Top with the spices. And then add the quinoa and water.This cooks the larger vegetables on the bottom, while dispersing the flavor profiles in the middle. Although with some mixing, this really doesn't matter all that much. Everything will eventually cook together!
Press the cook button on the rice cooker. It should take about 45 minutes to cook.
When the quinoa is fully cooked, let sit for 10 minutes and add the tamari, apple cider vinegar, and walnuts. Then, fluff with a wooden spoon and serve.Do not use a fork or other metal utensil. It will scratch off the nonstick surface on the rice cooker. This will leach teflon into your food and cause future dishes to stick to the bottom.
Tips, Tricks, & Notes
While quinoa is not rice, it does cook the same and oftentimes better than rice in a rice cooker. For more tips and tricks to rice cooker quinoa, check out my article on The Fundamentals of Making Quinoa, including a stovetop version if you don't have or don't want to use a rice cooker.
I also tend to prefer tamari over soy sauce. They're both made from fermented soy and a lot of recipes use them interchangeably. Tamari tends to have a richer flavor and less salt content. It also tends to be gluten free.
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