Herbed Quinoa & Chickpea Salad
Herbed Quinoa & Chickpea Salad
Ingredients
- 1 cup quinoa rinsed in a fine-mesh colander
- 2 cups chicken or vegetable stock
- 1 can 15 ounces chickpeas, rinsed and drained, or 1 ½ cups cooked chickpeas
- 1 ½ cups roughly chopped baby spinach
- ½ cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
- ½ cup chopped fresh cilantro or additional parsley
- ⅓ cup chopped green onion green parts only
- ⅓ cup crumbled feta
- ⅓ cup toasted pepitas hulled pumpkin seeds
Lemon-tahini dressing
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 3 to 4 tablespoons lemon juice to taste
- 2 tablespoons tahini
- 1 large clove garlic pressed or minced
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- Freshly ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
- To cook the quinoa: Combine the rinsed quinoa and the stock in a medium saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat, then decrease the heat to maintain a gentle simmer. Cook until the quinoa has absorbed all of the water, about 15 minutes, reducing heat as time goes on to maintain a gentle simmer. Remove from heat, cover, and let the quinoa rest for 5 minutes.
- Lightly toast the pepitas (hulled pumpkin seeds) in a small skillet over medium heat, stirring frequently, until slightly fragrant or about 5 minutes. Transfer them to a large serving bowl to cool for a few minutes.
- To make the dressing: In a small bowl, combine the olive oil, 3 tablespoons lemon juice, tahini, garlic, salt and several twists of freshly ground pepper. Taste, and add up to 1 more tablespoon of lemon juice and/or more pepper.
- Once the quinoa is ready to use, add it to the large bowl. Add the chickpeas, spinach, parsley, cilantro, green onion, feta and toasted pepitas. Drizzle all of the dressing over the salad, and toss to combine. Serve immediately, or let it cool and refrigerate for later. This salad keeps well in the refrigerator, covered, for up to 3 days.
did you make this recipe?Please rate and leave a comment! Or follow me on Pinterest @berriesandoats1 to let me know how it was!