Chai Spiced Quinoa Breakfast Bowl

If you are fed up with porridge for breakfast why night try Quinoa.  While it is commonly used for lunch and dinner, it can also make the perfect breakfast dish.  Quinoa is high in protein, gluten free and is packed full of vitamins and minerals.  Here I cooked a mixture of red and plain quinoa with almond milk and chai spices.  Once ready, I topped with maple glazed apples, a cranberry and apricot crumb and finally some chopped almonds.  The quinoa is super filling and perfect for a dark frosty Finnish morning.  It has a savoury sweet flavour and slightly nutty texture and the panfried apples make an indulgent addition.

Chai Spiced Quinoa Breakfast Bowl – serves 2

250 ml almond milk

1 tbsp of agave syrup

1/2 tsp of ground cinnamon

a pinch of freshly ground nutmeg

1 cinnamon stick

1 star anise

2 cardamom pods

200 g of quinoa (use plain or you can mix with red or black quinoa, however i would recommend using some plain quinoa in the mix as red and black quinoa do not soften as well as

1 apple, peeled, cored and sliced

a pinch of cinnamon

1 tbsp of maple syrup

Place the milk, syrup, 1/2 tsp of cinnamon, cinnamon stick, nutmeg, star anise and cardamom in a small saucepan and slowly bring to a boil.  Rinse your quinoa throughly and add to the warm milk.  Reduce the heat,cover and allow the quinoa to simmer for 25- 30 mins.  Occasionally give the quinoa a stir to prevent it from sticking and add a little extra almond milk if necessary.

Meanwhile add the apples, pinch of cinnamon and maple syrup to a pan and simmer for 15 mins until the apples are tender.

Once the quinoa is ready, remove the star anise, cinnamon stick and cardamom pods and serve with the maple glazed apples.  Feel free to add extra toppings like I did

So why not get out of that porridge rut and give quinoa a try?  I am off to New York tomorrow for my birthday, but hope to find some inspiration from all the vegan/ vegetarian restaurants there and report back to you soon.