Quinoa Pudding with Strawberries

Picture rice pudding, but with quinoa instead of rice, and there you have it, quinoa pudding. You could serve it with maple syrup (this is just the way I grew up eating rice pudding), but in this version from Cannelle et Vanille, it is topped with strawberries – I used local, in-season Quebec strawberries, nothing but the best! I absolutely loved it, and the Engineer was fond of it as well, but the kids ate only the strawberries and left the pudding behind.

Note that I made this with lactose-free cream, but you could replace it with coconut milk or, as the original recipe suggests, simply omit it for a drier pudding. This makes 4 8-ounce servings, but I stretched it to make 8 smaller servings.

3 cups lactose-free whole milk
1 cup lactose-free cream (see note above)
1 vanilla bean
¼ cup sugar
pinch of salt
1 cup quinoa
1 cup strawberries, diced
1 Tbsp. sugar

Combine the milk, cream, sugar, salt and vanilla bean in a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer. Add the quinoa and stir. Reduce heat to medium low, cover the pot slightly, and cook for about 30 minutes stirring every few minutes. If skin starts to form on top of the milk, just stir it back in. The milk will reduce and thicken. Ladle into bowls or jars. Puddings can be served warm, at room temperature, or cold, depending in your preference.

Meanwhile, place cut strawberries in a bowl and sprinkle them with sugar. Toss them and let them sit at room temperature for about an hour until juices start to come out.

Top the puddings with the strawberries.