Quinoa and Bean Stew (Guiso)
Guiso is the everyday stew of the Peruvian highlands, built on a sofrito of onion, garlic, and aji amarillo, the fruity yellow chile that colors much of the country's cooking. Quinoa grew in the Andes long before it reached the rest of the world, and it does double duty here, standing as a whole grain in its own right and as the starch that thickens the broth once it breaks down at a simmer. Toasting the aji paste and tomato paste together for a couple of minutes before adding any liquid is the step that builds the stew's depth, doing the job a more conventional guiso would ask salt and oil to do.
Ingredients
- 1 Yellow onion, diced
- 4 cloves Garlic, minced
- 3 tbsp Aji amarillo paste
- 1 tsp Cumin seed, toasted and ground
- 2 tbsp Tomato paste
- 1 tsp no-salt vegetable bouillon
- 1 cup Quinoa, rinsed
- 2 cups Potatoes, diced 1/2-inch
- 1 cup Carrots (cooking), diced
- 1 1/2 cups Lima beans, frozen
- 1 cup Frozen corn
- 1 Lime, juiced
- 1/4 cup Cilantro, chopped, divided
- 1/4 tsp Black peppercorns, ground
Method
- Put the diced onion in a wide pot with 3 tablespoons (45 ml) water over medium heat. Cook, stirring and adding a splash more water whenever the pot goes dry, until the onion turns soft and pale gold, about 8 minutes. This is the base of the guiso, so let it fully collapse before moving on.
- Stir in the garlic, aji amarillo paste, and ground cumin. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly, until the mixture smells toasted rather than raw. Aji amarillo is a fruity, moderately hot Peruvian chile, and a minute of direct heat is what brings that fruitiness forward instead of leaving it flat.
- Add the tomato paste to the dry spot at the bottom of the pot and cook it alone for 1 to 2 minutes, until it darkens from bright red to brick red. That color change is the sugars caramelizing, and it is what gives the broth depth without a bouillon cube or salt doing the work.
- Stir in the no-salt bouillon and 4 cups (1 L) water, scraping up anything stuck to the bottom of the pot. Add the potatoes, carrots, and rinsed quinoa. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a steady simmer, cover, and cook for 15 minutes, until the potatoes are just tender and the quinoa has released its curled germ.
- Add the frozen lima beans and corn straight from the freezer. Simmer, uncovered, for 8 to 10 minutes more, until the beans are tender and the stew has thickened into a loose, spoonable guiso. Quinoa's own starch does the thickening, so no flour or cornstarch is needed.
- Turn off the heat and stir in the lime juice, half the cilantro, and the black pepper. Taste before reaching for more lime: the acid is what stands in for salt here, sharpening every other flavor in the pot. Ladle into bowls and scatter the remaining cilantro on top.
Nutrition
Estimated per serving: 345 calories, 14 g protein, 9 g fiber, 190 mg sodium. Computed from USDA FoodData Central reference values for the main ingredients. This is an approximation, not a laboratory measurement. How these are computed.
Cost per serving is estimated from US national-average retail prices for cheap staple forms, using BLS dried-bean prices and USDA produce prices. Prices vary by store and season, so treat it as a guide, not a receipt. How this is computed.
