Popped Amaranth

¼ c yields ~¾ c popped

Amaranth is one of those recently “rediscovered” grains that you may have heard about but have no idea what to do with.  Just as quinoa was to the Incas, amaranth was a sacred food to the Aztecs and was domesticated over five thousand years ago.  Both are actually seeds, often called pseudograins, and are related to spinach. Amaranth is the smaller of the two and usually found as golden beige seeds, although varieties from almost black to pink exist too.  Amaranth seeds are “extraordinarily nutritious” - higher in protein and calcium than milk[1] and high in folate and iron.  The leaves can also be eaten, and are increasingly seen on local menus in late spring.  These plants are very easy to grow, have multiple uses, are especially beautiful and produce a lot of seeds – one plant can yield up to 50 thousand!  I highly recommend fitting some into your 2012 garden plan.

Alegria from www.tamaraduker.com

Amaranth can be cooked, but is quite gummy and usually used as a thickener.  I’ve been playing around with it to make a tart crust, and will report back once I get it to my liking.  In the mean time, I’m excited to experiment with popping this fantastic grain.  Popping the poppy-sized seeds is easy and yields mini popcorn-like white fluffy balls.  In Mexico, popped amaranth is bound with a sweetener to make alegria and sold by street vendors.  In looking for a picture to add I came across a whole post on a site hosted by a registered dietitian/nutritional therapist that is definitely worth a read and has a recipe for North-of-the-Border Alegria that looks really good! along with more amaranth info and tones of GF recipes.

While it’s a little harder to eat just loose, it is fabulous mixed with a little salt, pepper and hot sauce, and spooned into your palm.  I’m working on binding this into a savory version of alegria.  I’m sure that it would also make a nice crispy coating on baked tofu (or anything else!) and may even be a good substitute for breadcrumbs in many recipes – venture forth and let me know how it goes!

The procedure on how best to do this differs with each person’s account.  The afforested site recommends popping only a tablespoon at a time to ensure less unpopped seeds.  I’m not that patient and I’ve found that putting about a quarter cup in at a time yields lots of popped seed, and the unpopped ones are toasted such that they are not overly crunchy.  Play around with it to find out what methods works best for you and your end product – ergo, have extra on hand.

Directions

Get a heavy pan (such as cast iron) really hot – ready a tight-fitting lid if you wish. Add the amaranth such that it just fills the bottom of the pan – too thick a layer and it won’t pop evenly.  Shake back and forth occasionally to keep it from burning, with or without the lid depending on how much of a spilly-pants you are.  When the popping has slowed/stopped, promptly pour the amaranth out of the pan.  Pop more amaranth until you reach the desired quantity.  How easy was that!?

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[1] Wood, Rebecca. 1999. The New Whole Foods Encyclopedia. Penguin: New York, NY. 426 pp.