Serves 6 as side
This salad is refreshingly reminescend of summer but adds a little bit of autumn with the inclusion of the grapes and cranberries. When I recently sat at a bar, I saw the line-chef slicing grapes in half by holding them in place with the palm of the hand, fingers stretched, and slicing by using a sharp knife and cutting horizontally across between the hand and the cutting board. So fast, so pretty, so professional looking! Give it a try.
Ingredients
1 cup red quinoa, rinsed
4 tsp olive oil
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 x 14 oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
sea salt and freshly ground pepper
1/2 small red onion, very finely diced
1 long green chile, seeded and very finely diced
1 large handful of mint, finely chopped, plus extra leaves to garnish
2 cups black champagne grapes or 2 cups black or red seedless grapes, halved or left whole
1 cup dried cranberries
1 cup almonds, toasted and coarsely chopped
4 tsp extra virgin olive oil
finely grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
1 handful of baby spinach leaves
Instructions
Place the quinoa in a saucepan with 2 cups of water and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 25 minutes or so until the qiunoa is tender and the water has been absorbed. Set aside and cool.
Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat.
Add the cinnamon and stir for 10 seconds.
Add the chickpeas, season to taste and stir to coat, then cook for 6-8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the chickpeas are golden brown and a little crisp – take care as they can spit a little in the oil.
Remove from the heat and set aside to coo.
Combine the cooled quiona and chickpeas in a large bowl, then add the onion, chile, mint, grapes, cranberries and almonds and stir through.
In a small bowl, whisk together the extra virgin olive oil and lemon zest, then add the lemon juice to taste. Season with slat, then pour over the salad and toss to coat.
Sprinkle with baby spinach and extra mint leaves scattered on top and serve.
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