Amaranth with Spinach Tomato Mushroom Sauce
1 cup amaranth
1 teaspoon salt, optional
1 bunch spinach
2 ripe tomatoes
1 tablespoon olive oil
pinch garlic powder or 1 clove, minced
pinch onion powder or 1 tablespoon, minced
1/2 pound mushrooms, sliced
1 1/2 teaspoons basil
1 1/2 teaspoons oregano
salt and pepper, to taste
1. Place amaranth, 2 1/2 cups water, and salt (if desired) in pot, and cook on the stovetop for 20-25 minutes; it should be slightly crunchy, but not hard.
2. For sauce, boil spinach until tender, approximately 20 minutes. Dip tomatoes into boiling water to loosen skin, then core and peel. Chop tomato corsely.
3. Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and onion, sand saute approximately 2 minutes. Add tomato, mushrooms, basil, oregano, salt, pepper, and 1 tablespoon water.
4. Cook approximately 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Drain and chop spinach, then add to tomato concoction. Cook an additional 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Mash tomato somewhat as you cook. Mix sauce into cooked amaranth.
This sauce also works nicely with cooked pasta. Amaranth is great because it is high in iron, and I lean towards the anemic side much of the time. One serving provides 60% of your RDA. I think it tastes a lot like grits.
SO HOW'D IT GO?
When grits and Aqua Sand have a baby you get amaranth! LOL! But seriously, it looks like Aqua Sand when you put it in the water and has kinda the consistency of grits (even though it looks more like tiny, baby quinoa). The flavor of this warming, comforting dish is really good, and it's a great way to vary your grains throughout the week. I often have this recipe for breakfast. Be careful if you have arthritis, as this has the double whammy of spinach AND tomatoes in it. I cut the salt by more than half, and I use the garlic clove, because I think it tastes better than powder. Super yum!
I tried this recipe and love it just as is! I bought some amaranth a few months ago for the first time and didnt really know what to do with it so I was so happy to find a recipe here! I agree that this grain is highly nutritious and for me very filling. It does have a different taste, more grainy than other grains but somewhat similar to cornmeal. It absorbs flavors very well. Thanks for sharing!
I made this the other night and really enjoyed adding amaranth and thus more iron to my diet. Quick and easy - Amaranth is a nice change from the usual grains (brown rice & quinoa). I used a whole onion (love the onion!) and a few cloves of garlic. I wonder if using fresh basil would give this more flavor - I assumed the recipe called for dried herbs. I would say that I missed the idea of a sauce in this dish and plan to add a can of tomato sauce to this to make it tastier in the future...