Jamaican Quinoa

Jamaican Quinoa

Ingredients:

2 cups quinoa (rinsed and drained)
1 can coconut milk (I love Natural Value Brand because it doesn't contain any fillers)
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 small onion or 2 stalks scallion, chopped
1 tsp dried thyme
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
~1 2/3 cup water

In a 4 cup measuring cup, add all ingredients except quinoa. Pour the water in last, making up the difference between the liquid already in the cup and the 4 cup mark.

Incorporate the liquid and quinoa in the Instant Pot liner. Set the IP on the Rice setting for 8 minutes with NPR. Or poor all of this into a rice maker. I have a Miracle Pot that I purchased before I learned about the Instant Pot, so I make Jamaican Quinoa & IP Jerk Chicken side by side for a fast meal.

For a more authentic appeal, but definitely not paleo, include some beans or "peas." To do this, pre-soak or "quick soak" with the IP 1 cup red kidney beans. They turn out prettier if you soak overnight, but if your like me the quick soak can save you when you forget to set them out the night before. After soaking, cook the beans with 2 cups water in the IP set on Beans for 10 minutes. Use the quick pressure release and drain any extra water. Now follow the recipe above. If you are going to try this in a rice cooker, the beans have to be fully cooked. You would use 18oz cooked (or canned) red, kidney beans & follow the recipe above adding the beans at the same time you add the liquid and quinoa.

Serves 4

Modified from a recipe from cooklikeajamaican.com

Instant Pot Jerk Chicken

Instant Pot Jerk Chicken

Served with Jamaican Flavored Quinoa

Ingredients: 

Jerk Seasoning-

3 scallions

4 large cloves of garlic

1 small onion

4 to 5 fresh Scotch Bonnet, Habanero Chile, or Jalapenos (listed in order of heat), stemmed and seeded

1/4 cup lime juice

2 tbsp Braggs Liquid Aminos or Coconut Aminos 

3 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp coconut sugar or maple syrup

1 tbsp thyme   

1 tbsp salt

2 tsp ground allspice

2 tsp black pepper

3/4 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 cup water

Blend all ingredients for the sauce in your blender or food processor.

Place 3-6 pounds of boneless, skinless chicken in your IP liner. It can be any mixture of light and dark meat that you prefer, just be sure you do not fill the pot more than 2/3 full. Pour the sauce in and stir to incorporate. After closing the pot, set the IP to 9 minutes on the Poultry Setting with NPR. 

Remove the lid and shred the chicken. My favorite way to shred IP or crockpot meats is using my KitchenAid mixer. To do this, place up to 3 pounds of the cooked chicken into the bowl of your mixer with the flat paddle attached. Do not scrape the sauce off the chicken as you transfer it into the mixer. You will want a bit of sauce for flavor, so leave it sloppy. You will also want to use your splatter guard if you have one. Slowly turn the mixer on to a medium speed and allow it to shred your chicken in a mater of seconds. Of course you can always shred the chicken by hand using two forks, if you prefer.

** If you don't have an IP you can make Grilled Jerk Chicken, which inspired this IP conversion!

Jamaican Quinoa recipe is coming tomorrow!