From time to time, we have foreign guests for dinner. Houston is a city that receives many people from other countries for 2-4 years; many come to work while others come to study, and some stay as we did.
This time, the guests were two German men and two Chinese women. On these occasions, I always try to do something Chilean but on the safe side... I've learned that the "Pastel de Choclo" (corn pie) is too exotic. This Quinoa Risotto is a perfect introduction to this lovely grain/seed.

Also, one of the guests was gluten intolerant, so the quinoa came to the rescue. I cooked this quinoa stew, or Quinotto served with grilled chicken. It was an effortless dinner.
For dessert, I baked an almond cake with Chilean papayas, also called Caricas. Drinking Pisco Sour puts everyone in a pleasing mood.
Visit our collection of Chilean recipes here.
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Quinoa Risotto
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Yield: 6
- Category: Stew
- Method: Stove
- Cuisine: Chilean
Description
A delicious side dish.
Ingredients
- 2 cups quinoa
- 4 cups vegetable broth, low sodium preferred
- 1 large bundle of chard
- 1 onion
- 1 cup heavy cream
- ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 2 tablespoons butter
- oil, salt
Instructions
- Wash the quinoa until it stops foaming. Place in a medium saucepan and cover with 3 cups of vegetable broth. Cook over medium-high heat until it boils. Lower the heat to low, and simmer for 20 minutes. Once ready, let it cool down on a tray.

- Wash and chop the chard stalks into small cubes. Cut the leaves into strips.

- In a large saucepan, cover the bottom with water. Place over medium heat. When boiling, add the chard, leaves only, and cover—Cook for 5 minutes over low heat. Uncover and remove the chard to a plate.
- Chop the onion into small cubes.
- Clean the saucepan and heat one tablespoon of oil and 1 of butter. Brown the onions and chard stalks for 10 minutes until golden. Add the cream, vegetable broth, and grated Parmesan cheese. Stir in the quinoa and, finally, the cooked chard.
- Add more vegetable broth to desired consistency, like a thick soup, if necessary. Finally, add the butter, mix well and adjust the seasoning.
- Serve hot.







Love it! Saving the recipe on my Pinterest to try it soon!
Thanks for posting this, I'm going to try this this week. Looks great!