Total time:10 minutes
Servings:1
The basic pattern is: cooked cereals + beans + cooked vegetables + raw vegetables + leafy greens + onions, all drizzled with lemon juice, olive oil and feta cheese.
The key is to have a batch of cooked grains in the fridge ready to go: quinoa, farro, sorghum, barley, and bulgur are good options. Any type of bean works, although I prefer chickpeas or cannellini here. For the cooked vegetable, I usually add a handful of grilled zucchini, which I make regularly throughout the summer, but you can use any cooked vegetable you have on hand. For the raw vegetable, tomatoes are an easy win this time of year, but go ahead and use whatever needs to be eaten – celery, cucumber and radishes would all add a fresh crunch. The same goes for leafy green. I’m leaning towards arugula, but any soft green should work well.
Add a little green onion, red onion or sweet white onion, then mix everything with olive oil and lemon juice and finally crumbled feta cheese, which brings flavor creamy and salty. If feta isn’t your thing, substitute another cheese or add a generous pinch of nutritional yeast to make it vegan.
Whichever variations you choose, you’ll end up with a fulfilling and nutritious meal filled with exciting textures and flavors, a salad that I hope will become a good habit for you too.
Quinoa and vegetable salad with feta
Storage: Cooked quinoa or other grains can be refrigerated for up to 4 days.
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- 1 cup baby arugula or other tender leafy greens
- 1/2 cup cooked quinoa, ideally red or tricolor, or other cooked grain like farro or bulgur
- 1/2 cup cooked chickpeas or other bean (drained and rinsed if canned)
- 1/2 cup chopped grilled zucchini or other cooked vegetable
- 1/2 cup quartered grape tomatoes or another chopped fresh vegetable, such as cucumber or celery
- 1 tablespoon thinly sliced shallot or chopped red or sweet onion
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- Pinch of fine salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1/4 cup (1 ounce) crumbled feta cheese
In a large bowl, mix the arugula, quinoa, chickpeas, zucchini, tomatoes and green onion until combined. Add the oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper and toss to coat, then stir in the feta cheese and serve.
Calories: 514; Total fat: 22 g; Saturated fat: 5g; Cholesterol: 15mg; Sodium: 561mg; Carbohydrates: 61g; Dietary fiber: 12g; Sugar: 16g; Protein: 19g
This analysis is an estimate based on the available ingredients and this preparation. It should not replace the advice of a dietitian or nutritionist.
From cookbook author and registered dietitian nutritionist Ellie Krieger.
Tested by Ellie Krieger; questions by e-mail to [email protected].
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