LEMON QUINOA CILANTRO CHICKPEA SALAD

Lemon Quinoa Cilantro Chickpea Salad image

Provided by Sharon123

Categories Grains

Time 40m

Yield 2-4

Number Of Ingredients 16

Previous Next

1/2 cup dry quinoa
2 cups vegetable broth
1 (15 ounce) can garbanzo beans (drained and rinsed)
1 cup cherry tomatoes, cut in half
2 avocados, diced
2 cups spinach
1 bunch cilantro
1/4 cup onion
2 small garlic cloves
2 lemons, juice of
1 lemon, zest of
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 teaspoon agave nectar (or honey)
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1 dash salt and pepper

Steps:

Make your quinoa first. Soak the quinoa in a pot in the veggie broth for about 15 minutes. After that, turn on the heat to medium high and let the quinoa come to a boil. Once it boils, reduce heat to medium/low and let quinoa simmer. Stir every so often, and cook quinoa for about 20-25 minutes just until the liquid absorbs. You don't want it completely dried out, so when there is just a TINY amount of liquid left in the pot, remove it from heat and put a lid on it. Set it aside, and make the rest of the salad.
In a food processor, add your spinach and cilantro. Make sure to wash you greens.
Process the greens until they are finely diced. You can do this by hand as well if you don't have a food processor.
Add the greens to a bowl, and set aside. Next take your onion and garlic and finely dice those (I do this in the food processor to), and add to the greens mixture. Next add your chickpeas and stir until everything is combined and coated. If the quinoa is cooled, you can add it to the chickpea mixture next.
Make your dressing by whisking all the ingredients together. Pour over salad, and mix until combined. Add in tomatoes and avocado and mix. Set in fridge for about 10-15 minutes before serving so the flavors set.
Enjoy!

Nutrition Facts : Calories 822.9, Fat 39.8, SaturatedFat 5.5, Sodium 745.8, Carbohydrate 103.7, Fiber 28.5, Sugar 5.7, Protein 23.3