Abstaining from grains during Passover can leave one hankering for a carb fix.
That’s one reason more Jews are embracing a newly popular (yet quite ancient) grain-like product — quinoa, a nutrient- and protein-rich and increasingly popular food first cultivated thousands of years ago by the Incas of South America.
“[During] Passover, the No. 1 thing you’re really missing is grains, and quinoa is such a great substitute,” explains Susie Fishbein, whose “Passover by Design” cookbook includes several quinoa recipes.
While technically a seed, quinoa (pronounced KEEN-wah) takes on a grain-like consistency when cooked, and also can be ground into flour.
According to Cynthia Harriman, director of Food and Nutrition Strategies for the Whole Grains Council, quinoa flour is an increasingly common ingredient in processed foods, and ConAgra Foods recently unveiled a line of quinoa flour. It’s also a popular wheat alternative with those who can’t eat gluten.
Sales of quinoa have grown more than tenfold since 2003.
Despite that growing popularity, quinoa is not universally accepted as kosher for Passover in Orthodox circles.
Star-K, the Chicago Rabbinical Council and several other U.S.-based kosher supervising agencies have come out with statements in the past decade approving use of quinoa, with the caveat that it be processed on separate equipment from other grains.
However, the Orthodox Union — the largest kosher certifying agency in the world — takes no position on quinoa, posting on its Web site that “there is a difference of opinion among Rabbinic decisors” and that “we suggest asking your local Orthodox rabbi.”
In Israel, most Orthodox Ashkenazi rabbis argue that quinoa falls into the same category as legumes and corn, and should be avoided.
That hasn’t stopped Jeffrey Nathan, executive chef of Abigael’s, a kosher restaurant in New York, from serving quinoa during Passover.
“Any recipe I would use rice in, I put quinoa in,” Nathan says, adding that he finds it works well in risotto, soups and salads.
Nathan is dismissive of many newfangled kosher-for-Passover bread and grain substitutes, but he puts quinoa in a different category.
“It’s not faking it,” he explains. “Quinoa I use all year round, so why not take advantage of it for Passover?”