Greek Style Chickpea and Quinoa Salad
Difficulty Level: Easy
I like quinoa and it really is one of those foods that's really good for you. It has a bit of a nutty flavour, but it is mild enough tasting that you can do a lot of things with it. This is a healthy take on a traditional Greek salad.
I took the lazy way out and used canned chickpeas, but if you plan ahead and soak them for 6 to 8 hours and then cook them in water for about and hour, they really do taste better. Once the quinoa is cooked assembling the salad takes a matter of minutes. The recipe makes a lot, so it would be good for a pot luck dinner. On the other hand, it's really delicious the next day so it makes a great lunch to take to work.
INGREDIENTS
| For salad: | |
| 1 and ½ cups | cooked chickpeas (½ cup dried) |
| 2 cups | cooked quinoa (2/3 cup dried) |
| ½ | red onion, diced small |
| ½ large | cucumber diced small (or 1 small) |
| ½ cup | crumbled feta cheese (raw, from sheep or goat's milk, tastes best) |
| ½ cup | chopped kalamata olives |
| 1/3 cup | flat-leaf parsley leaves, minced |
| 1/3 cup | mint leaves, minced |
| For dressing: | |
| Juice of one lemon (about 4 tablespoons) | |
| 2 tablespoons | extra-virgin olive oil |
| 1 tablespoon | Dijon mustard |
| 2 cloves | garlic, minced, pressed or grated |
| Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste | |
PREPARATION:
- Rinse quinoa well in running water to remove any bitterness. Bring a pot of water to the boil and add quinoa. Cover and cook, just simmering for about 25 minutes until the quinoa is cooked. Drain and allow to cool a bit.
- Toss chickpeas, quinoa, onion, cucumber, cheese, olives, mint, and parsley together in a large bowl.
- Whisk garlic, lemon, mustard and olive oil together, or shake it all together in a jar. Add a pinch of salt and a few grinds of pepper.
- Toss the chickpea and quinoa mixture with the dressing until well-combined. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Adapted from the website The Brassica Diaries
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