Spoiler: It’s like quinoa but different.
Find out what you should know about this up-and-coming ingredient.
Amaranth is unique in that it hastwoparts that taste good: leaves and seeds.
Alan Bergo, foragerchef.com
We spoke to an expert chef who shares what you should know to incorporate thishealthy foodinto your meal regime.
What Is Amaranth?
The leafy plant grows quickly and thrives in hot, dry climates.
Its aggressive nature causes many to treat it as a weed, but they’d be missing out.
In the culinary world, amaranth is considered a highly nutritious, versatile plant.
Bergo describes amaranth as “a traditional food around the world for thousands of years.”
It was perhaps most widely used as a staple in ancient Mesoamerica among Aztec and Inca civilizations.
you might find amaranth seeds at most grocery stores that carry specialty ingredients.
What Is a Pseudocereal?
Technically, a cereal or grain comes from a plant in the grass family.
Other popular pseudocereals are buckwheat, chia, and quinoa.
How to Cook the Seeds
To cook amaranth seeds, boil them just like rice or quinoa.
The tiny granules stick together to form a porridge-like consistency.
Cooked amaranth seeds have a deliciously earthy, nutty, and toasty flavor, almost like peanut butter.
Texturally, amaranth seeds give you a little pop as you bite down.
Today, they’re most commonly used in East and South Asian cuisine.
“The best way to get amaranth leaves is to plant them yourself,” Bergo says.
“They grow aggressively but are easy to control.”
They shine with a little bit of fat and heat.
Once done, they make a great side and a nice sandwich topping.
Bergo’s favorite use for amaranth leaves is in his recipe forJamaican callaloo with amaranth greens.
(In Jamaica, “callaloo” refers to both the greens and the dish.)
Amaranth greens are a joylike broccoli rabe without the bitternessand pack a rich green depth, like spinach.
“Amaranth has a strong swampy taste.
Nutrition
Nutritional highlights for amaranth leaves are that they’re low in calories and high in fiber.
They’re also particularly high in calcium, copper, magnesium, manganese, and potassium.
