Did you know that one of amaranth’s greatest attributes is its versatility in the kitchen? It can be added to soups, salads, stews, main courses, beverages and desserts. Here is a starter list.    Create a Blog entry or send us your favorite recipe and we will post it here.

SOUPS

Amaranth soup
Ingredients:
1 cup amaranth flour            1 cup of cold water
9 cups of beef or chicken stock    0.5 kg of potatoes, diced
2 cups of raw, chopped carrots    1 tbsp. oil
1 onion, chopped            1 garlic clove, minced
salt, to taste
 
Preparation:
1.– Heat the oil in a pot and add the onion and garlic.
2.– When the onion is transparent, add the chicken stock, salt, potatoes, and carrots.  Cook it until everything is done.
3.– Dissolve the amaranth in a cup of cold water.  When it is well mixed, stir it into the rest of the soup.
4.– Allow everything to boil for 10 minutes more and serve.
 
Vegetable soup
Ingredients:
20 amaranth leaves             2 carrots, cut
1 handful of  peas            1 potato, cut into cubes
1 handful of green beans, cut        2 green beans, sliced
1.5 liters of chicken stock        4 large tomatoes    
Onion, parsley, garlic, chile, oil and salt (to taste)
 
Preparation:
1.– Boil the carrots, peas, potato, and the cut and sliced green beans with the  chicken stock. 
2.– Liquefy or grind the tomato with the onion and garlic, and fry this.  Season it and add it to the vegetables and chicken stock.
3.– Add the parsley, amaranth leaves, salt, and chile. Let it cook for 5 more minutes.
 
**Use the amaranth leaves as you would green beans or other vegetables, but you may also use more amaranth leaves.
 
SALADS

Nopal salad
Ingredients:
10 nopal cactus pads, cut in cubes      1 avocado cut in pieces
15 large amaranth leaves         half an onion, chopped
3 tomatoes, cut in pieces         salt, to taste
cilantro, washed and chopped    1 cup puffed amaranth
**1/4 cup of vinegar (optional)
 
Directions:
1.– Cook the nopals and when they are done, drain them.
2.– Cut the amaranth leaves.
3.– In a casserole,  mix all of the ingredients and add salt according to your taste.
 
** If you would like, add a fourth cup of vinegar.
 
Vegetable salad
Ingredients:
20 amaranth leaves
1/2 lb. green beans, boiled and cut
1/2 lb. potatoes, boiled and cut into squares
1/2 lb. carrots, boiled and cut into squares
1 cup green bean seeds, boiled
1 cup puffed amaranth
vinegar, to taste

Preparation:
1.– Cut the amaranth leaves.
2.– Mix all of the vegetables.
3.– Pour vinegar over everything, and allow it to marinade for 30 minutes.
4.– Sprinkle the puffed amaranth over the vegetables and serve.
 

SALSAS

Red salsa
Ingredients:
10 amaranth leaves, cut into pieces    10 green chilies serranos
1/4 of an onion             1 garlic clove
3 tomatoes                cilantro, chopped, to taste
1/2 cup of amaranth flour         salt, to taste
1 cup of water
 
Preparation:
1.– Roast the tomatoes.  When they are ready, peel them.
2.– In a food processor, grind the garlic and onion.  Add them to the tomatoes and chilis.
3.– Add the cilantro, amaranth leaves, salt and water.
4.– Mix the amaranth flour in cold water and add to the salsa until everything is well mixed.

Guacamole
Ingredients:
3 large, ripe avocados        3 tomatoes   
1 small onion                 4 chilies   
10 medium-size amaranth leaves     salt, to taste
1 cup puffed amaranth        **1 lemon (optional)
 
Preparation:
1.– Remove the avocados’ skins and cut them into medium-sized cubes.
2.– Chop the onion, tomatoes, amaranth leaves, and chilis. Combine everything with the avocado cubes.
3.– Sprinkle in the cup of amaranth cereal and add a pinch of salt.
4.– Carefully mix all of the ingredient.
 
**Optional: sprinkle the juice of a lemon over the avocado cubes

STEWS

Yellow chicken with amaranth
Ingredientes:
1/2  kg of tomatoes                 2 onions
10 chilies guajillos                4 chayotes
1/4 kg of green beans            3 potatoes
1 cup of amaranth flour             1 kg of chicken
2 garlic cloves
Hierba Santa, cumin, pepper, and salt, to taste
 

Preparation:
1. Begin to cook the chicken with the onion and salt (to your taste).
2. Devein the chilies and toast them over fire. When the chilis are clean and toasted, put them in hot water.
3. begin to cook the chayotes, potatoes and green beans. (Allow them to cook only half way because they will finish being cooked along with the rest of the stew.)
5. Grind the garlic, cumin, pepper, onion, and chilies.  Add them to the pot where the chicken is cooking.
6. Add the amaranth leaves and hierba santa.
7. Separately, dissolve the amaranth dough and flour in water.  Mix it into the stew.
8. Add the vegetables to the stew and allow them to cook.  When everything is done, remove from the stove and serve.
 
Tostadas
Ingredients:
1 small pot of bean paste             20 pieces of toast
1 cup of amaranth flour            cheese, to taste
20 large amaranth leaves, cut         1/2 cabbage, sliced
2 cups of amaranth cereal
 
Preparation:
1.– Little by little, add the amaranth paste to the bean paste.  Stir well until the flour cannot be spotted.
2.– Combine the cabbage with the amaranth leaves and cereal.
3.– Lastly, spread the bean paste over the pieces of toast and top with a generous amount of amaranth leaves and col.
4.– Garnish with cheese.


BEVERAGES

Rice and amaranth smoothie
Ingredients:
1 cup of amaranth flour          1/4 kg of rice
1 cup of amaranth cereal        1 liter of water
sugar and ground cinnamon (as necessary)
 
Directions:
1.– Start to cook the rice and milk on low heat, and when the rice begins to cook, add the cinnamon.
2.– Dissolve the amaranth flour in water, and when  the rice is well cooked, stir it in along with sugar.  Allow everything to boil for about 5 to 10 minutes.  
3.– Allow it to coo.  Sprinkle with amaranth cereal before serving.
 
 
Oats and amaranth smoothie
Ingredients:
2 liters of water            1 cup of oats
2 cups of amaranth flour        1 cup of amaranth cereal
cinnamon and sugar, to taste
 
Directions:
1.– Start to boil the water, cinnamon, and oats.
2.– Separately, with a bit of water, dissolve the amaranth flour.
3.– Stir the dissolved amaranth flour into the boiling water while stirring so it does not stick to the pot. Allow it to reach boiling point.
4.– Add the amaranth cereal and sugar. Serve.
 
**This amaranth flour drink can be used like any other flour drink

DESSERTS

Alegrias
Ingredients:
1/4 kg of amaranth cereal        1/2 a lemon
1 cone raw sugarcane        1 cup of water
 
Directions:
1.–  Break apart the sugarcane as much as possible. 
2.–  Determine whether the sugarcane is sufficiently heavy by dropping a piece of it in a cup of water.  If the sugarcane does not dissolve and remains as a ball at the bottom of the cup, it is ready.  If it is ready, put it in a pot and add the water.
3.– Add the lemon and immediately stir in the amaranth cereal until it is perfectly mixed.
4.– Before it cools, put this on a tray or any other flat surface and shape it with your hands.
5.– Allow it to cool for only a bit more and then cut it into squares to have the happiness readily available.
 
Amaranth candy
Ingredients:
1/2 a cup of amaranth flour       
1 envelope of powder for flan or milk gelatin
cinnamon, to taste
1 liter of milk
 
Directions:
1.– Heat half a liter of milk and the cinnamon over medium heat. 
2.– Dissolve the amaranth flour in half a liter of milk,  and add it to the milk and cinnamon as soon as it begins to boil.
3.– Allow it to boil for 5 minutes and add the flan powder, stirring constantly to prevent it from sticking or burning.
4.– Remove from the stove and distribute into cups for gelatin.  Refrigerate until it has the consistency of gelatin, and serve

La Kiwicha - Peruvian Recipes (in Spanish)