How about a bowlful of quinoa breakfast cereal this morning?
I had already known that quinoa was one of the ancient grains coming originally from South America, dating back over 5000 years, but what I was surprised to learn later came while I was speaking with my mother.
I don’t know how many of you know that I’m half Mexican, it rarely comes up in conversation and I really never think of myself in ethnic terms, only as an American. But when you have to make a Latin-themed breakfast from a grain, and your Mother is Mexican, it certainly can’t hurt to ask her if she knew of any breakfast dishes made with quinoa.
What I found out truly amazed me. As with most people her age (almost 94) her present-day memories are not as clear as those of years gone by, and when I asked her she went into a long story about her youth and things her mother served for breakfast, one being quinoa. You see when you grow up in a family of ten children like my mother did, feeding that many people can be quite a chore and expensive. There were no boxed breakfast cereals back then except for Corn Flakes, and from what my mother told me you could buy a 50-pound bag of grain for about the same price as a box of cereal, so that wasn’t one of their primary breakfast choices. But my Grandmother was an exceptional cook and never let her family go hungry or be unenthused about a meal. Her dishes were always tasty, nutritious and filling.
But what she said next took me by surprise! She told me that my grandmother made quinoa for me all the time and that I loved it. As I thought back I did remember a breakfast cereal that she would make me, but I had no idea what I was eating, just that it was delicious!
We moved from Texas early on in my childhood, and I’ve never had that breakfast dish my Grandmother made since. We did speak more about how she prepared the quinoa, but since my mother never really liked to cook, she only remembered what went in the cereal.
She told me it varied depending on what was available, but it was always an assortment of nuts an fruits. She went on to tell me since they ate at different times in the morning the cereal was never really hot but mixed together in a bowl and then they would add a sweetened milk to it that would be kept warm on the stove.
While she didn’t know what the milk was made of she remembered it had a caramel-like flavor and a was very creamy. While my mother didn’t know the complete recipe, she had given me enough to recreate this simple but nutritious breakfast. I have to admit that I mixed my dulce de leche with a bit of heavy cream in addition to the milk, but I figured since I was eating something healthy it wouldn’t hurt!
If you’ve tried my Dulce de Leche Breakfast Cereal or any other recipe on askchefdennis.com please don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know where you found it in the comments below, I love hearing from you! You can also FOLLOW ME on Instagram @chefdenniseats and @chefdennistravels, Twitter and Facebook.
You might also like my Banana Oat Bread Recipe.
Dulce de Leche Quinoa Breakfast Cereal
Ingredients
- 7 oz red quinoa
- ½ cup pecans pieces
- ½ cup almonds chopped or sliced
- ½ cup golden raisins
- ½ cup dried cranberries
- ½ cup diced apple
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- 1 cup dulce de leche
- 4 oz whole milk
Instructions
- Bring 2 ½ cups of water to boil and pour over quinoa, cover and let quinoa absorb all the liquid
- While quinoa is absorbing liquid, begin work on dulce de leche topping. Add milk to dulce de leche and mix well.
- Heat mixture over low heat, until bubbly and slightly thickened. Turn heat down to simmer and continue with quinoa
- Fluff quinoa with fork and add in Pecans, almonds, raisins, dried cranberries and apples. Mix well
- Divide finished quinoa into serving bowls and top with hot dulce de leche mixture
- Serve and enjoy!
Julie @ This Gal Cooks
Wowza. This is awesome on so many levels, Chef Dennis.
Thanks for sharing this recipe with me in the Round Up group. I’ll be using it in my Quinoa round-up. Have a lovely weekend! 🙂
Chef Dennis Littley
my pleasure Julie and thank you for including me in your round up!
V@lovemesaysfood
Hey there, this sounds great!
Two questions,
1) do you have a great dulce de leche recipe to share?
2) does it have to be red quinoa?
thanks for the post!
Chef D
I’m sorry to say that I do not have a recipe for dulce de leche, and no it does not have to be red quinoa, it could pretty much be any grain you enjoy.
Jenny @ Savour the Senses
Talk about healthy meets indulgence! I love this, I am going to have to have this soon (especially since its healthy!)
Shannon | JustAsDelish
I’m a big quinoa fan but never used it for breakfast. Didn’t know I can just pour hot water over quinoa, don’t have to boil. what’s a little fat in something healthy 😀 thanks for the inspiration!
anna
mmmmm this looks so warming and good! also everybody is doing caramel and dulce de leche this week! did i miss a memo??
Nancy/SpicieFoodie
Hi Dennis,
I loved your story. It’s funny how we forget about things we loved as children. Your story makes me want to get on a plane and go see my mom and grandmother. Quinoa is such a great grain. I’ve only had it in savory dishes but now I know I have to make it for breakfast. Thanks so much for sharing your recipe -can’t wait to eat it:)
Chef D
Thanks Nancy
This was such a departure for me, and something I did just to help out my boss. The magazine ended up not using the article, because I got the dates wrong and missed the deadline…oh well, I think I got so much more in return with all of my memories.
Hope all is well my friend and its great to hear from you!
Dennis
Lynn
I think this could be a dessert too. Mix all ingredients together, make it thicker and use an entremet as a form. Either way, quinoa and dulce de leche- great pair! And nice story 😉
Katrina @ In Katrina's Kitchen
I loved every bit of this post. How precious! And now you have a delicious recipe 🙂
RavieNomNoms
Oh my goodness gracious this looks good!! WOW, I would have this for breakfast every day this week if I could!
Kimby
Dennis, I smiled when you said you consulted your Mom for cooking ideas. My kids (grown) always call and ask, “Ma, how do you make your…” and it pleasantly surprises me which dishes they request. I’m sure your Mom was tickled to help!
More than that, I loved your statement about being an American. We’re all just people doing the best we can to cook good things for our loved ones. Everyone’s heritage adds depth to the mix and some mighty tasty ideas and lovely stories. Thanks for sharing about YOU.
Muna Kenny
It’s a great way to be pampered. Cream, nuts, and dulce de leche? What more can one ask for!
Kim - Liv Life
Like you, I use most of my quinoa in salads, however we have used it a couple of times for breakfast, but none of them as good as this. I can be positively certain that the kids would clean their plates for a serving if this quinoa in the morning!
I added your dish to my quinoa round up – I hope you don’t mind!!
Chef D
Thanks for adding me into your quinoa round up Kim, I thought I had missed it!
kelly @ kellybakes
Thank you for sharing this story with us. Isn’t it funny how food leads us back to our own history and reveals things we didn’t even know about ourselves and our family? I’ve been bonding with my dad over food lately and though he’s teaching me cooking skills, I’m finding out a whole bunch of stuff about my family that I never knew before!
p.s. He also used to serve me lumpy cream of wheat for breakfast–if he had made this, I never would have complained as much as I did at the breakfast table!
Charlie
Dulce de leche for breakfast! There’s no better way to start a day!
Brooks
Chef, What a truly remarkable story! The family lore is as warming to the heart as this gorgeous breakfast cereal must be to the soul. Somehow, in a divine sort of way, there must be a reason you received this challenge. And how you lived up to it…brava good man!