Quinoa Salad with Nectarines, Corn, Cucumber, Roasted Chickpeas and a Ginger Dressing
A Simple Summer Salad with Big Flavors! Quinoa is cooked fluffy with turmeric and local farm- fresh ingredients gets a topping of a quick Gingery Dressing.
Servings: 8 servings
Ingredients
Quinoa:
- 2/3 cups quinoa rinsed; yields 2 1/2 cups cooked
- 1 1/3 cups vegetable broth or water
- 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
Salad Ingredients:
- 1 cup cucumbers thinly sliced; 1/2"pieces
- 2 ears fresh corn I use one white, one yellow
- 1 large nectarines I used one yellow and one white
- 1 recipe stovetop roasted ginger-maple chickpeas* (recipe below)
- 1/2 cup chopped parsley
Fresh Ginger Dressing
- 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh ginger peeled, coarsely chopped
- 2 teaspoons fresh garlic peeled, coarsely chopped
- 1/3 cup rice vinegar
- 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon pure cane sugar
- 1/8 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/3 cup grapeseed oil or other neutral oil
- 2 tablespoon sweet onions peeled; coarsely chopped
Instructions
- Cook quinoa in low simmering vegetable broth or water with the turmeric, covered. Done on about 13 minutes, uncover, take off heat, keep covered 3 minutes then fluff. Leave to cool.
- Make the Ginger-Maple Stovetop Roast Chickpeas (recipe in notes)
- Strip corn, remove silks. Steam until just cooked, about 3 minutes. Cool. Cut in half horizontally - remove kernels with a sharp knife.
- Cut nectarines from the pits in 1/4 inch slices.
Make the Ginger Dressing:
- Add ginger and garlic to a small food processor, pulse to chop slightly. Add the vinegar, lemon juice, sugar, pepper and salt. Pulse one minute. Add the oil through the top feed tube until emulsified. Add the onion and pulse until onion is chopped, but still has some texture. (The dressing can be made in a blender.)
- Finish the Salad:
- Add quinoa to a large bowl. Add cucumbers, corn, chickpeas and parsley. ONLY add nectarines just before serving (or up to 2 hours with the dressing.) Top with the Ginger Dressing and stir well. Enjoy!
Notes
Ginger-Maple Stovetop Roast Chickpeas:
Drain a can of organic chickpeas. Spread out on paper towels, add a paper towel on top to dry - and rub gently to remove their skins. Add 1 1/2 tablespoon neutral oil to a large cast iron or stick proof skillet. Heat to medium-high. Add the chickpeas, 3/4 teaspoon dry ginger, 1 1/2 teaspoons pure maple sugar, 1/4 teaspoon ground chilis (I used Kashmiri ground chili) and 1/4 teaspoon sea salt. Stir well to coat and cook until golden to lightly browned, about 10 minutes; stirring. Chickpeas will be crunchy but not dry. This recipe may not be reproduced without the consent of its author, Karen Sheer.
Drain a can of organic chickpeas. Spread out on paper towels, add a paper towel on top to dry - and rub gently to remove their skins. Add 1 1/2 tablespoon neutral oil to a large cast iron or stick proof skillet. Heat to medium-high. Add the chickpeas, 3/4 teaspoon dry ginger, 1 1/2 teaspoons pure maple sugar, 1/4 teaspoon ground chilis (I used Kashmiri ground chili) and 1/4 teaspoon sea salt. Stir well to coat and cook until golden to lightly browned, about 10 minutes; stirring. Chickpeas will be crunchy but not dry. This recipe may not be reproduced without the consent of its author, Karen Sheer.
Nutrition
Calories: 172kcal | Carbohydrates: 17g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 7g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 1g | Sodium: 83mg | Potassium: 226mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 437IU | Vitamin C: 9mg | Calcium: 18mg | Iron: 1mg