Amaranth Porridge With Grated Apples And Maple Syrup Food

Amaranth is a tiny seed - it isn't really a grain, though that is how we treat it - and has both sweet and grassy overtones. I experimented with preparing it as a polenta, like the teff polenta I made earlier in the week, and seasoning it with nut oil or mixing in a little Parmesan. It worked that way, but I still found that the flavor of this food works better with sweet flavors, and the texture did not benefit from the long oven simmer, the way the teff did. So again, I decided that amaranth is best served as a breakfast porridge. I toasted the seeds in the pan before adding water, and this added a wonderful popcorn dimension to the flavor. The aroma of this cereal as it cooked reminded me of the smell of the whole wheat Ralston Hot Cereal that my mother used to make for me. The amaranth will cook in about 20 minutes on top of the stove. I add milk halfway through the cooking, and the amaranth retains a nice grainy texture.

Provided by Martha Rose Shulman

Categories     breakfast, main course

Time 25m

Yield Serves 1

Number Of Ingredients 6

• Ingredients

Many years ago, after I decided to stop eating meat (I am not a strict vegetarian now, though that's the way I usually eat), I walked down the street to look over whole grains at my local health food store in Austin, Tex. There wasn't much of a selection; still, it was all new to me, and I bought some of the grains sold in bulk bins: brown rice, millet, kasha and wheat berries.

Provided by Martha Rose Shulman

Categories     breakfast, easy, main course

Time 40m

Yield Serves two

Number Of Ingredients 5

• Ingredients

Nutrition Facts : @context http, Calories 209, UnsaturatedFat 2 grams, Carbohydrate 36 grams, Fat 4 grams, Fiber 3 grams, Protein 8 grams, SaturatedFat 1 gram, Sodium 168 milligrams, Sugar 5 grams