Description
Think fluffy quinoa with Mediterranean spices, paired with herbs, chewy dates, almonds and sweet red onion. Served both warm or cold, this golden quinoa salad is super versatile.
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 cup Quinoa, uncooked
- 3 tbsp Olive oil
- 2 clove Garlic, finely minced
- 1 tsp Onion powder
- 1 tsp Cumin seeds
- 1 ½ tsp Kosher salt
- ½ tsp Black pepper
- ½ tsp Turmeric
- ½ tsp Cayenne pepper
- ½ tsp Ceylon cinnamon
- 1 head Cilantro, finely minced
- 1 head Mint, finely minced
- 1 large handful of Arugula, roughly chopped
- ½ medium Red onion, finely diced
- 1 can (15 oz) cooked Chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 4 pitted Medjool dates, finely diced
- ½ cup Flaked almonds ((also known as sliced almonds))
- 1 large Lemon
- Extra olive oil for topping
Instructions
- Dump the quinoa into a mesh strainer and rinse thoroughly, set aside.
- In a pot, add in the olive oil and heat on medium-high heat. Once the oil is shimmering, turn the heat down to medium and add in the minced garlic, onion powder, cumin seeds, salt, pepper, turmeric, cayenne pepper and cinnamon. Let the spices bloom and continue to cook until the garlic is golden-brown, about 2 minutes. Make sure to stir the spices as they cook.
- Dump the quinoa into the pot, along with the water and stir to combine. Turn the heat up to high and bring the quinoa to a boil. Once boiling, turn the down to low and partially cover the pot with a lid. Let the quinoa cook until all the water is fully absorbed and the quinoa grains are fluffy, about 10 minutes. Once the quinoa is done cooking, fully cover with the lid and let sit on the stove, heat off, for 10 minutes.
- While the quinoa cooks, add the cilantro, mint, arugula, red onion, chickpeas, dates and almonds into a large bowl. Once the quinoa is done, fluff with a fork and add into the bowl. Squeeze over a generous amount of lemon juice (I used a full lemons worth) along with a generous amount of good quality olive oil. Toss to combine and season to taste with kosher salt.
- I personally like to let this salad sit for 10-15 minutes before eating it, as it allows the flavors to meld a bit.