Chickpea, sweet potato, feta and Quinoa salad is a salad that i have often because it doesn't feel like a salad. That's a win win situation if you ask me. All the benefits of a salad but without all the calories. I love that is is so hearty, filling and subtly flavoured. Some times i don't want overpowering, 'hey look at me' flavours. Sometimes I want texture, simplicity and fresh flavours. Sometimes I like it when every ingredient sings and stands firm, rather then being forced out of the equation altogether by strong, in your face flavours.
So yesterday, i went to a lovely little place in Leicester. I love most coffee shops/tea rooms and am currently working on compiling a list of my favourites. (Yay more days out for me!). I prefer them to restaurants or takeaways any day. Anyway, they were serving some vegan treats by V:GD. This is a company that specialise in vegan desserts that are free from Gluten, Wheat, Dairy, Soy and Refined Sugars. I tried their cookie dough pops and they were delicious. Even my little boy liked them and that is a really big deal for me because I want to cut down on the amount of refined sugar in the kids diet. If my kids likes a treat that isn't full of hidden nasties, then I will choose that over and over again rather then giving them some chocolate buttons.
So, this salad is one i started to make when we decided to cut down on our meat intake and i love it. It is delicious served as a side dish yet substantial enough to be eaten alone. Adding a griddled aubergine to it would add another delicious smoky dimension altogether. It is also great served with hummus and toasted pitta chips. Happy days!
Enjoy!
📖 Recipe
Chickpea, sweet potato, feta and Quinoa salad
Ingredients
Chickpeas
- 400 g chickpea tin drained
- 4 garlic cloves in the skins
- 1 teaspoon cumin powder
- 1 teaspoon coriander powder
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 tablespoon oil
Sweet potato
- 1 large sweet potato peeled and cubed into ½ inch pieces
- 1 teaspoon garlic granules
- 2 tablespoon parmesan cheese grated
- ½ teaspoon brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon cumin powder
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon butter
- Salt and pepper to taste
Sauce
- 2 tablespoon tahini paste
- 2 tablespoon juice of a lemon
- 2 cloves garlic crushed
- 2 tablespoon water
- 1 teaspoon paprika powder
- Salt and pepper to taste
Salad
- 1 small red onion diced
- ½ cucumber cubed
- 1 carrot skin removed and peeled into ribbons
- 100 g baby plum tomatoes diced
- 2 tablespoon pickled cabbage
- 60 g feta crumbled
- 60 g Quinoa
- Handful parsley chopped
Instructions
Chickpeas
- Preheat oven to gas mark 6.
- Add chickpeas to a bowl and toss with oil, cumin, coriander and smoked paprika powders.
- Add garlic cloves and chickpeas to an oven tray.
- Drizzle the garlic with a bit of olive oil. (Now prepare the sweet potatoes so they can go into the oven at the same time following the instructions for sweet potato below).
- Bake for 20 minutes, or until the chickpeas are golden brown and very slightly crispy. Add the salt and pepper whilst still hot.
- The garlic should be fragrant and slightly browned. Remove from oven and set aside.
- Squeeze garlic out of skins once cool and mash as much as possible.
- Add it to the chickpeas. Toss through with your hands.
Roast sweet Potato
- Put the cubed sweet potatoes in a large bowl and drizzle with oil + melted butter. Add the parmesan, garlic granules, brown sugar, cumin, smoked paprika and salt and pepper, making sure everything is evenly combined.
- Spread the sweet potato in one layer. Bake for 25 minutes, then turn them and bake for 10 minutes more at gas mark 4.
Sauce
- Combine the ingredients for the sauce. You may need to add more water to thin the sauce. Taste and adjust seasoning.
Salad
- Cook the Quinoa according to packet instructions and add half a vegetable stock cube to the water. Once done, separate with a fork and set aside.
- Combine all the ingredients for the salad in a bowl and add the Quinoa to it.
Assemble.
- Add the salad to the bottom of a dish.
- Top with the sweet potato and chickpeas.
- Drizzle some sauce over the top.
- Serve with Hummus and toasted pitta chips.
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