Quinoa corn chowder - Dairy Foods

I attended another Whole Foods cooking class yesterday, this one was called "Cooking with Quinoa".  I don't have a lot of experience with quinoa other than I've eaten it a few times at restaurants and it's delicious. I had never cooked with it until yesterday. In case you don't know, quinoa is a whole grain with a lot of protein, iron and fiber. Plus, it's gluten-free and super easy to make.

My favorite dish of the class was this quinoa corn chowder. It was not as creamy as you may expect, it's very thick, even thicker than a stew. It's hardy and delicious. My favorite part was the tempeh "bacon", which gave the soup a smoky flavor (you can find this at Whole Foods for about $3.50).

Quinoa corn chowder (recipe by Ani Loizzo of Whole Foods)

Ingredients

1 cup dry quinoa, rinsed
2 medium sized Yukon Gold potatoes, cubed
4 ears worth of corn kernels, or 2 cups frozen corn kernels
1 yellow onion, diced
1 red pepper, diced
4 cups vegetable broth
6 slices tempeh "bacon" chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 jalepeno, seeded and minced
2 tablespoons chopped green onions
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon paprika

Preparation

Heat olive oil in a medium sized pot. Saute "bacon" until crisp, set aside. Add onion and red pepper and saute until soft, about 5 minutes. Add garlic, jalepeno and potatoes, saute 5 more minutes. Add paprika, broth and quinoa and bring to a simmer. Simmer 10 minutes, add corn and simmer 5 more minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste and garnish with green onions and reserved "bacon".

Serves 4 as a meal, 8 as a side dish.

This recipe is gluten-free and vegan.