Zucchini Chickpea Quinoa Salad
Welcome to the eighth installment of my Food Friday feature! Each Friday through June and July, I’ve been sharing different fresh and (mostly) healthy summer recipes along with my photos. You can read more about this project and get the last seven weeks’ recipes HERE.
So this is the time of year when zucchini overflows in gardens (people start giving the stuff away!), and Zucchini Chickpea Quinoa salad offers a different and delicious way to use the bounty. This protein-rich salad mixes zucchini, quinoa, fresh parsley, green onions and chickpeas with spiced oil dressing. It has the warm flavors of cumin, turmeric and paprika, and it can double as a light lunch or a tasty side dish.
Plus, it’s ridiculously easy and fast to make. This recipe comes from a great blog called A Cedar Spoon, which has hundreds of wonderful and healthy recipes that I want to try!
Here’s what you need:
- ½ cup quinoa
- ½ of a 15 oz can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 1 medium zucchini, chopped into small chunks
- 2 green onions, white and green parts chopped
- ¼ cup fresh parsley, chopped
- 3 Tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Cook quinoa according to package and set aside to cool.
- In a large mixing bowl mix chickpeas, zucchini, green onions and parsley together.
- In a small mixing bowl whisk together the olive oil, tumeric, cumin and paprika for the dressing.
- Add the quinoa to the zucchini and chickpea mixture and combine.
- Mix in dressing and salt and pepper to taste. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
- Garnish with fresh parsley.
I hope you enjoy it! I left out the green onions, but I think you definitely need something in place of the onions to give this dish a little kick. If you don’t want the onions, maybe add in some red pepper flakes. I think red bell pepper could be a good addition, and maybe even some fresh corn kernels. This dish is so easy and versatile – and I love that it has protein – I’ll be making it again as an easy, healthy lunch.