Coconut quinoa flans with mango, rum and mint salad
Pudding de quinoa à la noix de coco et salade de mangues à la menthe et rhum
I had a lot of fun this weekend, playing in my kitchen. I love to spend time trying out new recipes and exploring new ideas. Unfortunately it does not happen as often as I’d like due to lack of time, and trying to accommodate everyone in the house.
Here is one way to prepare quinoa as a dessert, a little change from the savory preparations. You could eat this for breakfast as well, or anytime, you have a little sweet craving, but do not want to add up the calories. It’s a light dessert with lots of flavors, and the combination of the coconut and rum gives it an exotic flair, it brings me back to the island vacations, with the sun and the beach.
You don’t need to use a lot of quinoa in each mold, since it expands and absorbs liquid, a few tbs are enough. I found in my kitchen cabinet a baking emulsion I had bought a while ago at Chef Warehouse. It’s basically some strong coconut extract bakers use in their pastries, I thought to add some additional coconut flavor, and it enhanced the flavor to 60%, so if you can find this type of emulsion, it’s worth buying it, you could use it in any sweet preparation you use coconut.
Ingredients for 4 flans
For the flans
- 110 g cooked quinoa
- 3 eggs
- coconut sugar to your taste
- 1 can coconut milk
- 1/2 tsp coconut emulsion
For the mango salad
- 1 mango not too ripe, diced finely
- 1 tbs brown rum
- 1 tbs mint
- coconut sugar or stevia (or any sugar of your choice) to taste
Preparation
For the flans
Beat eggs and coconut sugar with an egg beater, beat for 5-10 minutes until obtained a smooth texture. Add the rest of the ingredients, and keep beating.
Pre heat oven at 365F. Divide quinoa in the four molds and pour coconut-egg mixture. Sprinkle with shredded coconut and bake in the oven for about 30-40 minutes. When the flans are cooked, remove from molds and let them cool. You can eat them lukewarm or cold. Serve with mango salad on the side.
For the mango salad
Mix all ingredients together and serve with flans