A flexible and easy chickpea quinoa salad, made with any vegetables you have in the house and a mustard vinaigrette. Vegan, quick, and a great weeknight dinner.
Course Main Course, Mains, Salad, Side Dish, Sides, Summer
To cook the quinoa, add the dry quinoa, water, and salt to a medium pot. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to a simmer and cook, covered, for about 12 minutes or until all of the water has been absorbed. Set aside to cool, while you prepare the other salad elements.
250 grams dry quinoa, 750 ml water, 1 teaspoon sea salt
Place the chickpeas, herbs, onion, cucumber and pomegranate seeds into a large mixing bowl.
225 grams cooked chickpeas, 30 grams mixed herbs, 1 small red onion, 1 English cucumber, A handful pomegranate seeds or raisins
To make the vinaigrette, add all of the ingredients to a jar or container and mix until very well combined.
125 ml olive oil, 80 ml white wine vinegar, 1 teaspoon maple syrup or honey, 1 teaspoon dijon mustard*, 1/2 teaspoon sea salt, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, Zest and juice of a lemon
Add the quinoa to the bowl with the vegetables and top with the vinaigrette. Mix well, and serve immediately or refrigerate for up to three days in a sealed container. Leftovers keep well and the salad tastes better on the second day.
Notes
* I more often use the German version of yellow mustard, which is between the highlighter yellow hotdog mustard and a proper dijon mustard, so use what you have.