Tomato Soup with Aromatic Quinoa
Lately I’ve tried to incorporate more quinoa into my diet. First, I started cooking it as a side dish, instead of rice or pasta. But I’ve noticed that it’s very versatile and that it also works well in all kinds of recipes; a few examples are the Quinoa with eggplant and apple, and a couple of weeks ago, I prepared Quinoa Peanut Butter & Chocolate Squares. This time I chose a delicious tomato soup with quinoa. 
In my 28 years of life, I haven’t met anyone who doesn’t like tomato soup. For that reason I think it’s the perfect soup for testing a new ingredient. No one can resist a bowl of tomato soup! I loved the idea of cooking the quinoa along with a lot of species, especially with ginger and cinnamon. 
It is a soup with a very intense and very balanced flavor. I liked the acidity of the tomato combined with the spiciness of the aromatic quinoa. Also I think the white wine gives it a very elegant touch, making an everyday soup a dish worthy for a celebration. 
The tomato soup with aromatic quinoa is a nutritious, healthy and flavorful dish. Perfect for starting a meatless meal because of the high protein content of the quinoa. You can cook the quinoa a day before, refrigerate and then add to the soup, making it a very quick dish.
By the way, you can serve this soup hot or cold, so it’s an ideal soup for these days with crazy weather when you never know what will happen.
- ¾ onion, finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- ¾ cup white wine
- 600 gr (21 oz) crushed tomato (canned)
- 3 cups vegetable stock
- 1½ teaspoon grated fresh ginger
- ¾ teaspoon whole fennel seeds
- ½ salt
- 1½ cup vegetable stock
- ¾ cup washed quinoa
- 10 gr unsalted butter
- 3 quarter-size slices fresh ginger
- ½ teaspoon anise seeds
- 1 clove garlic, grated
- 1 cinnamon stick (8 cm / 3 in)
- ¼ teaspoon ground cumin
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- In a large saucepan, heat 1 Tablespoon olive oil. Add the onion and garlic and cook until the onion is translucent, 5 minutes. Add the wine and boil until it reduces in half. Add the crushed tomatoes and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the vegetable stock, ginger, fennel seeds and salt. Simmer for 10 more minutes. Season to taste. Remove from heat.
- In a medium-sized saucepan, combine the vegetable stock, quinoa, butter, ginger, anise seeds, garlic, cinnamon, cumin and salt. Bring to a simmer. Turn the heat to medium-low, cover and cook until the quinoa is tender and all the liquid has been absorbed 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand for 5 minutes. Uncover and fluff with a fork. Discard the ginger and the cinnamon stick.
- Stir the quinoa in the soup and reheat.
- Enjoy!
