Nothing screams Spring like a fresh salad full of yummy and fresh ingredients. This salad goes a step further by roasting some of the ingredients before assembly. Yes, you read that correctly. This salad gets roasted to enhance the flavors and bring even more fun to the party. You can add any extra veg of choice to fill out the salad or if you have things in the crisper drawer that need to be used. Either way, you end up with a serious meal and lots of smiles.
Serves: 4
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes
Ingredients:
1 (14-ounce) can chickpeas, rinsed
Olive oil
1 teaspoon Ras el Hanout
4 cups shredded chard, torn by hand
1 ½ cups cooked quinoa
1 large carrot, julienned
Salt
Pepper
½ cup feta
½ cup roasted pumpkin seeds
The Dressing
2 cloves of garlic, grated
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
2 teaspoons dried Greek oregano
1 tablespoon chopped chives
1 tablespoon honey
½ cup olive oil
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Iine a baking sheet with foil then in a bowl, toss the chickpeas with a little olive oil then add the Ras el Hanout, tossing to coat. Lay the chickpeas onto the sheet. In the same bowl, add the chard along with a little olive oil and then toss to coat. Set the chard on the baking sheet next to the chickpeas. Do the same treatment to the quinoa and then the carrots. Lightly salt and pepper the ingredients on the baking sheet then place in the oven and roast for 15 minutes and until everything is toasty.
Make the dressing. The easy way is to add everything into a mason jar, put the lid on and shake very well until it emulsifies. If you want the other way, then add everything except the olive oil to a 2-cup measuring cup and whisk until everything is combined. Continue whisking as you drizzle in the olive oil and it becomes well combined.
Add the roasted ingredients to a large bowl and then dress with as much of the dressing as fits your tastes. Top salad with crumbles of feta and the roasted pumpkin seeds. Spring salad is now in season.