Quinoa Salad with Spinach, Cherry Tomatoes & Chickpeas Recipe

Salads are quickly becoming some of my favorite types of meals. In general, Laura and I eat a salad every night. She’s the one who got me into them and if it wasn’t for her, I would never have been introduced to the splendor of it all. The thing is, the salads she enjoys are side salads. You know – the regular ones with lettuce, tomatoes, peppers, etc. They’re good, but they’re not meals.

I’ve been doing some reading and searching for the types of salads that can actually substitute what someone might normally eat for dinner. In the days of high fat, high salt, high sugar and high everything, it’s up to ourselves to eat correctly. If we do, we may be able to reach old age with fewer issues than we might have otherwise. That’s just my guess. Who knows if it’s true. I’m inspired by Jack LaLanne, who lived until he was 96 years old. He was a maven for diet, exercise and nutrition, so if said it and did it, I don’t find his advice difficult to follow.

The Recipe

I had no idea that salads could be so filling. The recipe I’m going to share below is quite deceiving, in that after eating it, you’ll be stuffed to the gills. I’m not sure yet if it’s from the quinoa or the chickpeas, but one thing’s for sure – it’s surprising what one dish can do for you.

This recipe is fresh and tasty. It’s got a great vinaigrette that adds to the flavor. The quinoa is cooked in broth, so that adds some complexity to the profile and all the veggies offer some interesting texture. I can’t say anything bad about this recipe. Quinoa is extremely healthy to consume, chickpeas support weight loss with nutrition and fiber and all the vegetables have held their own throughout history. If you want to make this a truly healthy meal, skip the salt. That’s about it. Otherwise, have at it because it’s all good.

Ingredients

Serves: 4

For the Quinoa

2 Cups Quinoa, Rinsed & Dried
1 Tablespoon Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
1 Medium Sized Shallot, Chopped
1 Garlic Clove, Minced (Optional)
3 Cups Vegetable Broth, Low to No Sodium

For the Vinaigrette

1 Medium Sized Shallot, Chopped
2 Tablespoons Red Wine Vinegar
1/4 Cup Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
3 Tablespoons Curly Parsley, Chopped
Regular Table Salt
Ground Black Pepper

For the Salad

1 15-Ounce Can Chickpeas, Rinsed
2 Cups Baby Spinach, Coarsely Chopped
1 Cup Cherry Tomatoes, Halved
1/2 Cucumber, Halved, Seeded & Chopped
1/2 Red Bell Pepper, Chopped
Regular Table Salt
Ground Black Pepper

Step-by-Step Instructions

I’d like to thank Curtis Stone for this recipe. I found it in his What’s For Dinner cookbook, which has turned out to be one of my favorite sources for recipes. I didn’t know much about Curtis before reading through his cookbook, but now I think we may be twins. We’ve got almost identical tastes in food. I’m not sure how to explain it – rugged, yet elegant, I suppose.

Make Quinoa

Place a medium sized saucepan over medium-high heat on your stove top. When warm, add the 1 tablespoon of extra-virgin olive oil and 1 of the chopped shallots and cook for a few minutes. Stir until shallot pieces become soft. Then, if you decide to use the garlic, go ahead and add that to the saucepan, cooking and stirring for about 1 more minute.

When finished, add the 2 cups of quinoa and the 3 cups of vegetable broth to the saucepan as well.

Turn the heat to high and bring the liquid to a boil. Then, when boiling, reduce the heat to low, cover the pot and let cook for 15-20 minutes, stirring every so often. You’ll know when it’s ready when the quinoa is tender.

When finished, remove saucepan from heat and let cool. Better yet, scoop the quinoa into a medium sized bowl and place in refrigerator for about 15 minutes, or until cool.

Make the Vinaigrette

In a medium sized bowl, add the 1 medium size chopped shallot, the 2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar, the 1/4 cup of extra-virgin olive oil and the 2 tablespoons of chopped curly parsley (stems included).

Then, when everything is in the bowl, whisk the ingredients together until they’re combined well. At this point, you can season to taste with salt and pepper.

Set bowl aside.

Make Salad

In a large bowl, add the 1 15-ounce can of rinsed chickpeas, the 2 cups of coarsely chopped baby spinach, the 1 cup of halved cherry tomatoes, the chopped 1/2 cucumber and the 1/2 chopped red bell pepper. If you wish, add some salt and pepper.

When the above ingredients are in the bowl, go ahead and add the vinaigrette and mix well. The goal here is to coat the spinach leaves with vinaigrette.

Next, add in the cooled quinoa and mix that into the salad.

The Final Dish

As you can see from the photos above, this dish is attractive, bright and healthy. There’s nothing to complain about with this one, so enjoy for a weeknight meal or a weekend BBQ.

——

If you’ve enjoyed today’s post and found it helpful, please share it with a friend. Also, if you’d like to continue reading and would like our posts sent directly to your email inbox, simply sign up for our newsletter. We’ll send each and every post directly to you. Thanks!