Apple Cinnamon Amaranth Grits
1/2 cup amaranth grains
3 cups water (at least)
pinch of salt
1/2 cup apple sauce
2 tablespoons cinnamon sugar
2 teaspoons agave syrup
Heat a dry pot on medium-high heat. When it's hot, add amaranth. Shake the pot to keep the amaranth moving, otherwise it will burn. Put the lid on because the seeds will start popping. (This will smell incredible).
When a good amount of the seeds are popped (half?), add hot water to cover by about an inch. Stir well and add a pinch of salt. I keep hot water handy in a kettle while I do this so that I can keep adding hot water as needed without brining down the temperature.
Set your timer to 30 minutes and turn the heat down to medium-low. Stir frequently, adding hot water when the mush gets too thick.
When the 30 minutes are over, turn off the heat, stir in the apple sauce (sweetened, unsweetened, flavored,... your choice), and serve with 1 tablespoon of cinnamon sugar and 1 teaspoon of agave syrup drizzled over each of the two servings.
I never knew what to do with the amaranth that was sitting in my kitchen, except add it to bread. I also never liked it in salty dishes. It is pretty healthy since amaranth has a great nutritional profile.
This would probably also be good with some soymilk or soy yogurt stirred in or some dried apple bits or other dried fruit cooked with the amaranth. You could possibly add some seeds or nuts to this, too.
SO HOW'D IT GO?
I'm so glad you liked it. You might also enjoy it with some peanut butter. I realized after I submitted the recipe that it's really tasty with a spoonful of crunchy pb stirred in.
I'm eating this as I type!! I bought amaranth just so I could try this dish - or my version thereof! I added dried apricots, raisins, sunflower seeds and almonds after popping the amaranth, and before the first water. I added chopped up fresh apple about halfway through the cooking. I also added a dash of soymilk about 5 minutes before finishing cooking.
I served it topped with agave nectar and soymilk - gorgeous on a rainy morning!! Thank you for the recipe!!
Mmm...this looks really good! Great picture!
:) Martha