At spin class this week my friend Tara was telling me about this salad that she had made recently that her young daughter is requesting all the time now. A quinoa chickpea salad packed with vegetables. If her young daughter is requesting vegetables who is she to argue? I asked if she had a recipe to share but Tara said you can just throw anything you want together, no big deal.
On Saturday I was craving a wholesome dish full of vegetables myself so I decided to throw my version of the salad together:
Quinoa, Chickpea and Roasted Vegetable Salad
Here is what I used:
1 yam (or sweet potato)
3 beets
2 carrots
1 stalk broccoli
garlic
1 cup red quinoa (since that is what I had on hand), rinsed
2 cups of low sodium chicken broth
1 can chickpeas, rinsed
parsley
olive oil, white wine vinegar, salt and pepper
I heated the oven up to 350F and got consulting on the correct proportions of quinoa to liquid for cooking. (By the way, the iPad is the best thing ever to have in the kitchen! Gone are the days of trying to prop your cookbook open and the inevitable spills of tomato sauce or something else all over the beautiful pages.)
I cut up the broccoli and peeled and diced the yam, carrots and beets. I also smashed up a couple of cloves of garlic. I laid everything out on foil lined roasting sheets, drizzled with a little olive oil, and seasoned with salt and pepper. Into the oven to roast for 40 minutes.
While the vegetables are roasting pour 2 cups of chicken broth in to a sauce pan. Add in 1 cup of quinoa, rinsed. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover and simmer for 15 minutes or until all of the liquid is absorbed. Fluff with a fork.
In a salad bowl add in your cooked quinoa and your rinsed chick peas. I dressed this with a little extra virgin olive oil, white wine vinegar, salt and pepper. Add in your roasted vegetables and sprinkle with a bit more vinegar. Sprinkle on some chopped parsley.
Toss, serve and enjoy! This is a hearty and delicious meal that makes great leftovers.Thanks for the recipe inspiration Tara!
I like the new diggs!! I also like this new comment format.
Salad looks GREAT! I make something like this almost weekly – different veggies sometimes!
Yum, looks good. Does the whole salad turn pink from the beets?
When we ate it on Sunday night the colours were definitely nice and distinct. This morning the chick peas are definitely looking a little pink thanks to the beets!
Thanks Marlene! I really like the concept for the salad. It is so simple but something I never thought of. I think I’ll be making some variation on this salad on a regular basis from now on!
Linda has done a salad very similar to this. Tres yummy. This from a guy who is suspicious of veggies.
Just realized you moved your blog, love the new look, thanks for the recipe, I am going to try this!