Quinoa Chickpea Salad with Roasted Tomatoes

The Ingredients

This is what you need:

• Quinoa: There is a Whole Foods Organic Super Grains mix that I like for salads because it has 3 colors of quinoa, millet and buckwheat. That’s what you see in these photos.
• Chickpeas: After I drain the chickpeas in the can and rinse them, I roll them around on a towel to dry them and pull off any loose skins, so they don’t end up scattered throughout the salad.
• Tomatoes: Either grape tomatoes or cherry tomatoes will work. You can leave them raw, but they contribute more to the overall flavor of the salad when you roast them.
• Cucumbers: Because they have less seeds and their skin is thinner, I prefer either English cucumbers or Persian cucumbers.
• Olives: Pitted Kalamata olives add a salty accent.
• Red onions give the salad sharp bites here and there. If you like something more mild, then use sliced green onions instead.
• Walnuts: Toast the walnuts for 5-7 minutes in a 350-degree F oven to bring out all their nutty flavor.
• Feta makes so much sense with the rest of the ingredients with its salty, briny bite Goat cheese is fine for a substitute. Grated Parmesan will also work, but it will have a different consistency in the salad.
• Parsley is my choice for fresh herbs. You can also include basil or chives.
• Olive oil, kosher salt and black pepper are needed for roasting the tomatoes and for making the dressing.
• Red wine vinaigrette: This dressing is very simple with plenty of minced garlic, whole mustard, olive oil, salt and pepper.

Optional Additions

I love the salad as the recipe is written, but you can make any of these additions:

• Leafy greens: It’s fine to add lettuce to your quinoa salad. Try chopped kale, arugula or baby spinach. This is also an easy way to stretch the salad into more servings.
• Bell peppers: To add more vegetables, you can include a diced red, yellow or orange bell pepper.
• Hard-boiled eggs: You can chop them and stir them right in. 
• Chicken or shrimp (roasted or grilled) both work with the mediterranean flavors of this salad.

How To Make This Quinoa Chickpea Salad

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.

1. Toss the tomatoes with oil, salt and pepper. Do this right on the baking sheet. Then arrange them in a single layer, cut side up.

2. Roast the tomatoes until they are wrinkled but still juicy. This will take about 25-30 minutes.

3. Simmer the quinoa on the stove. When it finishes cooking, pull the pot off the heat and wait 5 minutes before fluffing it with a fork.

4. Make the vinaigrette. Whisk together the garlic, mustard, salt, pepper, vinegar and oil.

5. Combine the salad ingredients in a big bowl including the quinoa, roasted tomatoes, chickpeas, cucumbers, olives, onions, nuts, feta and parsley.

6. Drizzle the vinaigrette into the salad. Stir to combine. After you put it in a serving bowl, you can sprinkle on more chopped parsley and feta if you want. 

Serving

Since it has a quinoa base, this salad is filling enough to be a meal on its own. Serve it warm, at room temperature or cold. You can eat it as a side dish with barbecue veggie tofu skewers, these baked zucchini corn fritters or another vegetarian main.