Chickpea Quinoa Salad with Olive Oil, Lemon, and Honey Dressing

[Cheryl J]

Kay asked me to post the recipe for this delicious and refreshing salad I recently made. It makes a lot, but keeps well in the fridge for several days. I'm on day 3 now, and it actually just gets better, IMO. A little on the sweet side due to the dates and golden raisins and the little bit of honey in the dressing, but not overly sweet. I might add a little more fresh lemon juice next time, though.

It was the first time I made it so I made it as written, except I subbed toasted pine nuts for the pistachios, since that's what I had on hand. I'll definitely make this again.

The quinoa soaks up all the other flavors nicely and keeps it's texture, but couscous or bulgur could probably be subbed if you're not a quinoa fan.

Moroccan Chickpea Quinoa Power Salad Recipe | Little Spice Jar

 

[Kayelle]

Thanks for this Cheryl! It looks delicious although I'm not a fan of garbanzo's, but I bet cannellin's would work well, as would dried cranberries in place of the dates.
Can't wait to give it a try.

 

[di reston]

I LOVE Morrocan cuisine. I've been to Morocco many times, and I find the food inspiring. This recipe is definitely in the 5-star section of my recipe collection!

di reston


Enough is never as good as a feast Oscar Wilde

 

[msmofet]

Thank you for the recipe Cheryl.

I have tri-colored quinoa (I mixed my white, red and black together). We do love chick peas.
I too will probably switch the fruit and nuts to family preferences. Maybe TJ’s tart dried cherries, dried cranberries and maybe roasted salted almonds, peanuts or cashews.

 

[Cheryl J]

Thank you, ladies. Kay, the cannellini would probably work great as a sub for the garbanzos!

I like the idea of dried cranberries in place of the dates. I like dates, but I had to buy 1/2 lb. of them and have a lot left over, even after nibbling on them. I think I'll get out the foodsaver and vacuum seal what's left of the dates for the freezer.

MsM, I like garbanzos as well, and these were so nice and soft and creamy inside after being mixed in the salad for several hours.

 

[di reston]

Your lovely salad reminds me of 'tabbouleh', a Middle Eastern dish that is considered to be a salad in Lebanon, and Israel, and other countries on the Mediterranan coastline.

Here's the recipe:

1/2 lb fine burghul (cracked wheat)
3 tbsp finely chopped spring onions, or 1 large sweet white onion
Salt and black pepper
About 1 1/2 cups very fresh parsley, finely chopped
3 tbs very fresh mint, or 2 tbsp dried crushed mint
4tbsp best quality olive oil, or more, to taste
4 tbsp freshly squozen lemon juice, lightly salted

Put the bulghur in water as directed by the instructions on the packet (about 1/2 hour). It will swell up enormously. Drain and squeeze out as much moisture as possible with your hands. Spread out on a cloth, to allow to dry further.

Now mix the burghul with the chopped onions, squeezing with your hands to extract as much onion juice as you can, and so that it penetrates the bulghul. Season with salt and pepper. Add the parsely, mint, olive oil and lemon juice and mix well. The salad at this point should be distinctly lemony. Taste further and serve on vine leaves or crisp lettuce leaves.

A very popular way of serving tabbouleh is to include black olives, very ripe tomato pieces, cucumber (peeled and either sliced or diced), and dark green sweet peppers.

The olive oil you use should be quite strong in flavour.

Taste and adjust for salt and pepper, then serve on a large platter.

To many who live in the middle east around the Mediterranean Sea, this represents one of their national dishes.

di reston


Enough is never as good as a feast Oscar Wilde

 

[taxlady]

I really like tabouleh. Am I understanding correctly that the bulghur doesn't need to be cooked?

 

[GotGarlic]

I really like tabouleh. Am I understanding correctly that the bulghur doesn't need to be cooked?

It needs to be rehydrated.

http://globaltableadventure.com/recipe/turkish-tabbouleh-kisir/

Sent from my VS986 using Discuss Cooking mobile app

 

[taxlady]

It needs to be rehydrated.

Turkish tabbouleh | Kisir | Global Table Adventure

Sent from my VS986 using Discuss Cooking mobile app

I understood that from di reston's recipe instructions. I wanted to make sure that it wasn't pre-cooked bulghur.

I have always cooked the bulghur. But, I think my recipe says to prepare bulghur according to package directions and my package told me how to cook it. So, the times I made it, I cooked the bulghur.

 

[Cheryl J]

Thank you, di. You've reminded me that I need to make tabbouleh again! It's so cool and refreshing on these hot summer days.

Taxy, same here - I cook the bulgur according to the package directions. But I may try the other way someday.

I looked through my photo files and found this pic of tabbouleh I made a few years back. I've made it since, and have learned to go heavier on the fresh parsley and mint than what shows in this pic. Looks like I added a little feta to this dish as well.

 

[di reston]

The burghul should be prepared according to the instructions on the packet - not all bulghur is prepared as indicated in my recipe. I've already started my tabbouleh season here!

di reston


Enough is never as good as a feast Oscar Wilde

 

[taxlady]

The burghul should be prepared according to the instructions on the packet - not all bulghur is prepared as indicated in my recipe. I've already started my tabbouleh season here!

di reston


Enough is never as good as a feast Oscar Wilde

Does that mean you use pre-cooked bulghur?

 

[di reston]

No, not at all - I buy bulghur that's ready to boil. Having said that, I have no idea what you can source in the States, and pre-cooked bulghur may be the best option, nothing wrong with it - very handy, to my mind. We do the best we can for what we have, and that's the way I see it! And if you like a little tweak here and a little tweak there, good for you!

di reston



Enough is never as good as a feast Oscar Wilde

 

[taxlady]

No, not at all - I buy bulghur that's ready to boil. Having said that, I have no idea what you can source in the States, and pre-cooked bulghur may be the best option, nothing wrong with it - very handy, to my mind. We do the best we can for what we have, and that's the way I see it! And if you like a little tweak here and a little tweak there, good for you!

di reston



Enough is never as good as a feast Oscar Wilde

Thank you. Actually, I have never seen pre-cooked bulghur here in Canada. Great to know that I can leave out the cooking step. It's one of the reasons I am often too lazy to make tabouleh.

 

[di reston]

Ever thought of wholegrain rice? You can get easy-cook versions, I'm sure!
Cheers



di reston



Enough is never as good as a feast Oscar Wilde

 

[taxlady]

Ever thought of wholegrain rice? You can get easy-cook versions, I'm sure!
Cheers



di reston



Enough is never as good as a feast Oscar Wilde

I don't even bother looking for an easy cook version of unpolished rice. I wouldn't trust it. It's plenty easy to cook, but takes about 50 minutes. We usually cook up an extra large batch and put some in the freezer. I almost always have cooked, unpolished rice. But, I like bulghur in the tabouleh. I guess I'll just have to try soaking it instead of cooking it and see how it turns out.

 

[CWS4322]

Kay asked me to post the recipe for this delicious and refreshing salad I recently made. It makes a lot, but keeps well in the fridge for several days. I'm on day 3 now, and it actually just gets better, IMO. A little on the sweet side due to the dates and golden raisins and the little bit of honey in the dressing, but not overly sweet. I might add a little more fresh lemon juice next time, though.

It was the first time I made it so I made it as written, except I subbed toasted pine nuts for the pistachios, since that's what I had on hand. I'll definitely make this again.

The quinoa soaks up all the other flavors nicely and keeps it's texture, but couscous or bulgur could probably be subbed if you're not a quinoa fan.

Moroccan Chickpea Quinoa Power Salad Recipe | Little Spice Jar

Heading back to LOW next week. This is on my list. I will use the lemon-mint vinegar I have and maple syrup, dried cherries and .maybe some fresh...I will post my version once I make it. I am have the Morrocan meatballs now burgers on my list made with ground lamb. I will be cooking for Mom and myself, so I can be more creative!