A bright, crunchy spring salad that's just as good for a picnic as it is for weekday lunches. Fluffy organic quinoa is tossed with smoky roasted chickpeas, sweet-tart cranberries, toasted almonds and pumpkin seeds, then finished with a zingy lemon and sumac dressing. It keeps beautifully in the fridge, so make a big batch and pack it in your jars all week.
Serves: 4–6 | Prep: 15 min | Cook: 25 min
Ingredients
Salad
- 1 cup organic quinoa, rinsed well
- 2 cups cooked chickpeas (about ¾ cup dried, soaked overnight and cooked)
- ½ cup dried cranberries
- ½ cup sliced almonds, roughly chopped
- ⅓ cup organic pumpkin seeds
- 1 tbsp olive oil, for the chickpeas
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 2 big handfuls baby spinach
- ½ small red onion, finely sliced
- A handful each of fresh parsley and mint, chopped
Lemon sumac dressing
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- Juice of 1 lemon (about 3 tbsp)
- 1 tbsp maple syrup or honey
- 1 tsp sumac, plus extra for sprinkling
- 1 small clove garlic, finely grated
- ½ tsp flaky sea salt
- Freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
Method
- Cook the quinoa. Add the rinsed quinoa to a pot with 2 cups of water and a pinch of salt. Bring to the boil, then cover and simmer on low for 12–15 minutes until the water is absorbed. Take off the heat, leave covered for 5 minutes, then fluff with a fork and spread out on a tray to cool.
- Meanwhile, heat the oven to 200°C. Pat the cooked chickpeas dry, toss with 1 tbsp olive oil, the cumin, smoked paprika and a pinch of salt, and spread on a lined tray. Roast for 20–25 minutes, shaking halfway, until golden and crispy.
- Toast the almonds and pumpkin seeds in a dry pan over medium heat for 3–4 minutes, stirring often, until fragrant and the pumpkin seeds start to pop. Keep an eye on them, they catch quickly!
- Shake all the dressing ingredients together in a jar until well combined.
- In a large bowl, combine the cooled quinoa, spinach, red onion, cranberries, herbs and half the toasted nuts and seeds. Pour over the dressing and toss well.
- Pile onto a platter, top with the crispy chickpeas and remaining almonds and pumpkin seeds, and finish with an extra sprinkle of sumac.
Tip: Keep the chickpeas and nuts separate if you're meal prepping so they stay crunchy, and add them just before eating. The dressed salad keeps for up to 4 days in an airtight jar in the fridge.