Avocado Quinoa Salad with Spiced Chickpeas
A fresh and zesty salad with warmly spiced crispy chickpeas and a tangy dressing.
Servings 4
Calories 655kcal
Ingredients
- 1 x 450g can of chickpeas drained and rinsed in cold water then dried in kitchen paper
- 1 teaspoon ras el hanout spice mix see notes
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 100 g quinoa (dry weight) just over half a cup
- 2 medium ripe avocados peeled, stones removed then chopped
- 2 sticks of celery chopped
- ½ an English cucumber (180g) chopped
- 180 g cherry tomatoes (1 ¼ cups) cut in half
- 1 handful of flat leaf parsley finely chopped
For the shallot and mustard dressing
- 1 medium echalion shallot (banana shallot) finely chopped
- 3 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 heaped tsp wholegrain mustard
- 80 ml extra virgin olive oil (⅓ of a cup)
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon ground sea salt
- ½ a lemon the juice of
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 180° C / 356° F Spread the dry chickpeas on a baking tray, add the Ras el Hanout then mix until all the chickpeas are covered in the spice mix. Add the tablespoon of olive then toss gently. Cook in the oven for 10 minutes or until the chickpeas are hot and slightly crispy.Tip the chickpeas into a bowl lined with kitchen paper then leave to cool.
- Cook the quinoa according to the packet instructions.Once cooked leave to cool. Fluff up the quinoa with a fork before adding to the serving bowl.
Make the dressing.
- In a bowl add the shallots, mustard and apple cider vinegar. Whisk together until they are combined.Slowly whisk in the extra virgin oil then season with the salt and pepper.Leave in the fridge until ready to serve
- In a large serving bowl add the avocado, quinoa, celery, tomatoes, cucumber, chickpeas and chopped parsley. Toss gently. You can add the salad dressing now if you wish I usually serve the dressing on the side and let everyone add the dressing themselves.Serve with good crusty bread if you wish.
Notes
- Nutritional information includes dressing.
- There is enough dressing to generously serve six people and the calories per serving of the dressing is 117
- Thoroughly rinse the quinoa in a fine-mesh sieve before cooking to avoid any bitterness.
- If you want to make this ahead of time, squeeze some lemon juice over the avocado before chopping, make sure all the avocado flesh is covered in lemon juice and it won't go brown.
- If you can't find Ras el Hanout spice mix in your local supermarket or Middle Eastern food store then you can make your own. Find out how here.
- Cup sizes are approximate, I use a metric scale to weigh all ingredients.
Nutrition
Calories: 655kcal | Carbohydrates: 72.1g | Protein: 19g | Fat: 35.5g | Saturated Fat: 5.6g | Sodium: 371mg | Potassium: 1455mg | Fiber: 19.9g | Sugar: 9.9g | Calcium: 190mg | Iron: 9mg