Mexican quinoa soup

Quinoa is a small curly grain form South America – it is a rich and complete source of protein, minerals and vitamins.  It cooks quickly and is a great alternative to rice or couscous in recipes.  Here it is being used in a soup in combination with lovely warming spices.

Ingredients
4 cups of low-sodium vegetable stock
1 tin crushed tomatoes
1 medium red onion – chopped
4 cloves garlic – minced
1 capsicum – roasted over flame & skin removed
1 jalapeno
1/2 of seeds removed and finely diced
1 cup quinoa – cooked
1 tbspn paprika
1/2 tspn chipotle powder or 1/4 tspn chilli
1/2 tspn coriander
1/2 tspn ground cumin
2 bay leaves
1 pinch of cinnamon
1 avocado, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
4 limes, cut into wedges for serving
1 tbspn butter/olive oil

Method
Fry diced onions in butter/oil, add 1 tbspn of stock at a time to allow onions to caramelize (about 30 mins).
Add stock, tomatoes & spices in a pan, boil, then simmer for 25 mins. Add onions and cook for further 5 mins, then remove bay leaves.
Add cooked quinoa to a frying pan on medium heat, stirring occasionally for 15 mins until lightly browned.
Ladle soup into bowl, top with diced capsicum, quinoa, avocado & coriander.
Serve with lime wedges.