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Quinoa Cooked Like Rice (as described by Cieza de León, 1553)
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Quinoa Cooked Like Rice (as described by Cieza de León, 1553)

QuinoaAncientAndes (Quito, present-day Ecuador)LunchWhole grainVegetarian

Cook 15 min · Servings not given in the source

Make

Ingredients

  • quinoa — 1 cup (FAO's ratio is one part quinoa)
  • water — 3 cups (three parts water for each part quinoa)

Method

  1. Tip the quinoa into a fine sieve and hold it under cold running water, rubbing the grains lightly with your fingers so any bitter coating washes away.
  2. Put the rinsed quinoa and the 3 cups of water into a saucepan and bring to the boil.
  3. When it boils, turn the heat down low, put the lid on and let it simmer for about 15 minutes.
  4. It is ready when the grains have gone see-through. Serve it the way you would serve plain boiled rice.

From the old texts

“Of these seeds they make a drink, and also eat them cooked, as we do rice.”
In the original Spanish
De la qual hazen bꝛeuajes: y tambien la comen guiſada, como noſotros el arroz.
The printed pageThe printed page
Parte primera dela chronica del Peru. Que tracta la demarcacion de sus prouincias: la descripcion dellas. Las fundaciones de las nueuas ciudades. Los (ed. author Pedro de Cieza de León (1518-1554); printer Martín de Montesdoca), Sevilla (Impressa en Seuilla, en casa de Martin de Montesdoca), 1553, p. fol. xlix verso (49v) - foliation is printed on rectos only: the recto of this leaf (n120) is headed 'Chronica del Peru Fo. xlix.' with signature 'G' at its foot; this verso is headed 'Parte primera dela'

Pedro de Cieza de León, Parte primera de la Crónica del Perú (The First Part of the Chronicle of Peru), ch. XL (1553 (Seville)), Chapter XL ('Of the situation of the city of San Francisco del Quito...'), p. 144 of the 1864 translation, translated by Clements R. Markham — read the translation.

Which grain: “The quinua (Chenopodium Quinua L.) is cultivated in the higher parts of the Andes of Quito and Peru” (Clements R. Markham, translator's footnote to Cieza de León, ch. XL, p. 143 (Hakluyt Society, 1864))

Amounts and times: the old text gives none, so they are from International Cookbook for Quinoa: Tradition and Innovation, PDF p. 27 (printed p. xxvi).

the page
The page itself. Scan: Markham (tr.), The Travels of Pedro de Cieza de Leon, A.D. 1532-50 (Hakluyt Society, 1864), p. 144 · Public domain
the page
The page itself. Scan: Markham (tr.), The Travels of Pedro de Cieza de Leon (Hakluyt Society, 1864), p. 143 · Public domain

Tips

  • From the source: FAO says most of the bitter coating (saponin) is removed before quinoa is sold, so rinsing is a choice rather than a must.
  • From the source: for a nuttier taste, FAO suggests dry-toasting the quinoa in a pan over medium-low heat for about five minutes, stirring all the time, before it is cooked.
  • Where it comes from: Cieza de León wrote that the people around Quito ate quinoa seeds cooked as the Spaniards cooked rice. The quantities, water and time here are FAO's (2014), not the chronicle's.

Recipe from Pedro de Cieza de León, Parte primera de la Crónica del Perú (1553), ch. XL, written in our own words.