Quinoa Salad
This gorgeous Quinoa Salad features an abundance of color, texture and taste through the many delicious and crunchy layers created!
Ingredients
- 1 cup fluffy cooked quinoa 1 to 1 ½ cups
- 1 can rinsed and drained chickpeas
- 1 small red onion diced
- 1 pepper 1 red, 1 yellow and use half of each for color diversity
- ¼ cucumber diced
- flat Italian leaf parsley
- feta cheese cut into bite size pieces
- blueberries rinsed and left to drain.
SALAD DRESSING
- 1 to 2 fresh lemons - juiced and pips removed.
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 3 tbsps red wine vinegar or a light white wine vinegar
- ½ teaspoon salt Himalayan Pink salt
- cracked black pepper and a little coarse black pepper if you don't mind the bite otherwise stick to simple cracked black pepper. or put black peppercorns in a blender to just break the kernels down a little then you have a roughly textured black pepper mix!
- 1 teaspoon dried Italian herb or dried oregano
- a few leaves of fresh mint into the salad before serving if you have any are also good.
Instructions
- Add all the salad dressing ingredients into a server/jug, mix, taste and adjust accordingly. Set aside or leave in the fridge while you prepare the salad. Don't add the slice of lemon or any black pepper (if using any) now because that can be added just before serving.
- Prep all your veggies. Rinse the peppers and cut in half. Deseed and discard the green leafy top. Cut the peppers into bite sized pieces trying to make them more or less the same size. Remember the peppers and cucumber should be about the same size. Dice the red onion. Set aside. Rinse and cut the cucumber lengthwise and then into cubes. They should be about the same size as the peppers - again it doesn't have to be accurate just so that they are more presentable this way and easier to eat. Pour the chickpeas into a colander and rinse under a running tap. Remove any loose peels that might be floating around the chickpeas.
- Combine the salad ingredientsIn a large serving bowl start by adding the quinoa followed by the chickpeas and give those a mix using a fork. Add the rest of the salad ingredients finishing with the feta cheese and blackberries. Remove the dressing a few minutes before serving from the fridge. Add your salt, coarse black pepper, and black pepper kernels if using. Even just a few whole ones are good. Drop in your full lemon slice on top. Serve with your salad and add a couple leaves of fresh mint into the salad if you prefer and if you have any.
- TIPPour over your salad only when you are about to serve for optimal freshness. Always start by adding the heavier ingredients into the bowl first like in this recipe - add the quinoa and chickpeas first so they don't press down on the cucumber. Add the cucumber, onions and peppers next. One gently mix and then finish off with the cheese, berries and herbs. Never over mix the salad, work with it not against it. Salad dressing can be stored in a sealed container in the fridge for a couple of days and re-used. Add a teaspoon of Dijon mustard for a kick :)
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