Looking for a warm, soothing, delicious, hearty and nutrient rich recipe to keep your energy up throughout the long cold winter? Look no further. This is an easy to prepare, vegan, gluten free chowder recipe that will keep you coming back for more. Unlike all other grains, amaranth is a complete protein on it’s own, and a source of nutrition so concentrated that ancient civilizations depended on it for their survival. While adding amaranth to your diet may not automatically turn you into an Aztec ancient warrior, it’s a step in the right direction…
Ingredients
1 cup amaranth, dry*
4 cups corn (3 cups to blend, and one cup to use whole)
4 cups water or vegetable broth
1 cup almond milk
1 leek, chopped
2 celery stalks, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
parsley (to garnish)
¼ tsp Italian seasoning or dried thyme
salt & pepper, to taste
Preparation:
*Soak the amaranth for 3 hours and sprout for 2-4 days (you may refer to the user guide that came with your Markito Nutrition sprouting kit).
In a large pot, add about 3 tablespoons of water or vegetable broth, and cook the leek, celery, red bell pepper and onion over medium heat. Stir frequently and continue for about 5 minutes or until the vegetables soften. At this point stir in the amaranth and 3 cups of water or vegetable broth, and turn up the heat to bring to a boil. Stir in the herbs, salt and pepper. Reduce the heat slightly and continue to cook at a gentle boil, partially covered, for 15 minutes.
In a blender puree 3 cups of corn with 1 cup of water or vegetable broth. Stir the corn puree as well as the remaining 1 cup of whole corn into the soup. Reduce the heat and let simmer for 5 more minutes (until the amaranth is tender) while stirring in the almond milk and adding salt to taste. Finally, serve in a bowl and garnish with parsley.
Makes 2-3 servings.
Bon Appétit!
Marc & Christine
