Get to Know a Grain: Amaranth

Welcome to my first *unofficial* series...inspired by a fantastic cookbook I recently bought called Super Natural Cooking. In her book, food blogger/cook Heidi Swanson introduces readers to a whole new world of natural and healthy grains, flours and foods. As I perused through the book and admired the beautiful photographs, I realized I know next-to-nothing about most of the grains out there. I'm not alone either! The standard American diet (cleverly acronymned SAD) is almost completely reliant on white flour, which happens to be the least possibly nutritious grain to consume. In light of this, I've decided to explore more grains and experiment with recipes that can be potentially incorporated into my everyday eating habits.

The grain: AMARANTH. This ancient grain has been cultivated for over 8,000 years. Impressive. It was the staple food for the Aztecs and even a crucial part of their religious ceremonies. It wasn't until the 1970's when research on amaranth began in the U.S. and a few thousand acres of the grain were planted. (Better late than never!) Currently this grain is mostly sold in health food shops, though it's becoming more popular and I was able to pick some up in my local Whole Foods.

Close up of amaranth

So what makes amaranth so special? For starters, it is packed with protein (up to 15 grams per serving!!) and also includes a good helping of calcium, iron and zinc. Yeah, yeah, yeah.....but how does it TASTE?! Good question. Earlier this week I set out to try my first amaranth recipe, straight out of Heidi's book.

The recipe: Amaranth seed-encrusted biscuits, from Super Natural Cooking

The process: My first mistake in this recipe was a bit of a technical foul. I purchased whole amaranth grains, which look like tiny circular beads. The recipe called for amaranth flour. Oops. Determined to forge ahead, I attempted to grind the grain in my handheld food chopper. Not very successfully. The grains are pretty tiny, so I figured they would soften a bit in the baking process. I floured my clean kitchen counter I used my heart-shaped cookie cutter to create biscuits from the rolled-out slab of dough. Each biscuit went onto the cookie sheet and was brushed with egg white and sprinkled with sesame seeds (the only seeds I had on hand - poppy and other seeds can also be used!) Off they went into the oven for 15 minutes.


The results: Well, after my heart-shaped biscuits came out of the oven they looked quite lovely and had a nice moist consistency but had a little too much crunch-factor. With a little butter and honey they were actually quite tasty, and had a pleasant flavor. I'm convinced that following the real recipe with amaranth flour will make all the difference and produce a great biscuit replacement for the usual Bisquick (white flour) variety.

I plan on experimenting with other amaranth recipes using the rest of my supply.
Then it's on to the next grain: BARLEY! Stay tuned....