Rinse your quinoa in a fine mesh strainer, cheesecloth, or nut milk bag to thoroughly saturate all the seeds. Drain off excess water, but don’t let the quinoa completely dry out.

Heat a medium-sized pot over medium-high heat. Add quinoa, still saturated, to the pot.

Add the saturated quinoa to a medium-sized pot preheated to medium-high heat.

Let cook for about 15 minutes. After 5 minutes, most of the water should have evaporated, drying out the quinoa.

By 10 to 15 minutes, the quinoa should smell nutty and make popping sounds. Let this continue until most of the quinoa has popped, stirring occasionally.

Add water and salt and mix. Bring the quinoa to a boil.

Lower the heat and place a lid on the pot. Let the quinoa simmer for 15 minutes.

Check quinoa to see if all the water is absorbed, and fluff it with a spoon or fork.

Mix in lemon juice and zest. Serve with additional lemon slices to squeeze in even more lemon juice, if desired.