Okay guys, this one you would want to bookmark. It’s super easy to make as most ingredients are minding their own business in the oven. As a result you get a super delicious salad that’s perfect for lunch or dinner.
It’s packed full of protein and if you’re smart you’ll double the portion of the crispy chickpeas to keep as healthy snacks or simply spice up another salad.
What is quinoa?
It’s one of the world’s most popular health foods.
Quinoa is gluten-free, high in protein and one of the few plant foods that contain sufficient amounts of all nine essential amino acids..
It is also high in fibre, in fact, much higher than other grains, high in magnesium, B vitamins, iron, potassium, calcium, phosphorus, vitamin E and various beneficial antioxidants.
It’s super easy to incorporate in your diet –– you can even have it for breakfast. It takes as little as 15-20 minutes to prepare and is to find in most supermarkets. Easy peasy.
Most of the times you’ll have to rinse the quinoa well to get rid of saponins, which are found on the outer layer and can have a bitter flavor.
- Put 2 cups (240 ml) of water in a pot, turn up the heat.
- Add 1 cup (170 grams) of raw quinoa, with a dash of salt.
- Boil for 15–20 minutes.
It should now have absorbed most of the water and gotten a fluffy look. If done right, it should have a mild, nutty flavor and a satisfying crunch.
Quinoa salad with crispy chickpeas and baked carrots with creamy tahini dressing
Super healthy, protein rich quinoa salad perfect for busy days where you want to eat healthy without sweating in the kitchen. Most ingredients will cook themselves in the oven.
- 120 g quinoa
Baked Carrots
- 5 small carrots
- olive oil
- salt and pepper
Crispy curried chickpeas
- 1 tin chickpeas
- 1 1/2 tbsp coconut oil
- 1 tsp curry
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp sesame seeds
- 1 tsp tumeric
- 1 tsp salt and pepper
The other bits for the salad
- 1 blood orange
- 1 pk sugar snaps (sliced into small thins)
- 8-10 cherry tomatoes on the vine
Creamy tahini dressing
- 1/4 cup tahini
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp dijon mustad
- 3 tbsp ice cold water (it's important that it's ice cold as it makes the dressing extra super creamy and helps the ingredients to mix better together)
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- salt and pepper
Boil the quinoa according to the instructions on the packet. When done leave to cool slightly.
Crispy curry chickpeas
Drain and rinse the chickpeas. Pat dry in a kitchen towel.
Add to a bowl and add coconut oil. Give it a good twirl making sure they're covered. Then add all the spices and mix well.
Add to a baking tray with baking paper. Set aside for now whilst you prepare the other things that go in the oven.
Baked Carrots
Peel and rinse the carrots.
Cut them in quarters lengthwise. Add to a baking tray along with the rinsed tomatoes.
Cover in olive oil and salt and pepper. Bake in the oven along with the chickpeas for 30 minutes at 180 C.
Curry roasted chicken (optional)
Toss a little olive oil on the chicken fillets and drizzle with salt, pepper, curry and cumin. Add to an oven safe tray with baking paper and bake in the oven for 25 minutes.
Tahini Dressing
Mix the tahini, olive oil, mustard, lemon juice and salt+pepper in a bowl. Combine well until creamy.
In a steady movement, add the ICE cold water slowly whilst stirring. You should end up with a very creamy dressing.
Cut the blood orange into thin slices.
Cut the sugar snaps into thins.
When everything is ready, scoop out the quinoa on a large serving tray, add the baked carrots + tomatoes. Add blood orange slices and sugar snaps.
Sprinkle with the crispy chickpeas, and finally add dressing.
If having with chicken, cut it into pieces and serve with the quinoa salad.
Extra Flavours
If you want, you can add extra goodies by baking beetroot with the carrots.
You can toast pine nuts and/or sunflower seeds for extra crunch.
Add garlic and/or chilli to the dressing for an extra kick.
The dressing will keep well in the fridge for a week or so. Just keep it in an airtight container or a sauce bottle.