Quinoa Tabooli and Humble Chickpea Salad

As I am still recovering from the viral bug that I picked up two weeks ago and feeling like I'll never step foot in my kitchen again...cue the violins! lol. I am forced to post two more salad recipes...not that salads aren't great. I love the tasty crunchy freshness they provide and look forward to being able to eat them again very soon. It's more of a case that I feel like I have saturated my blog with them since I've been ill. But then again...I do truly believe you can never have too many salad recipes...Oh well...and I am on the road to recovery so I hope to be back in my kitchen very soon.

These recipes are very similiar in that they are both very healthy and very worthy. The Quinoa Tabooli was an experiment as I usually use the wonderful bulgar wheat but as I had Gluten Free pals coming to share this meal I chose to try the quinoa variation. And I really enjoyed it and out of the eleven of us who was there only one truly didn't like it. So not bad. The Humble Chickpea Salad is just what it says...simply cooked chickpeas with a very simple dressing. I know it would be some people's idea of hell but as a fully paid up member of the chickpea lovers club..and it was my birthday party...lol...I loved it!! As did many others. The recipes are once again from Joanne Stepaniak's Vegan Deli. 

Quinoa Tabooli
(Recipe from Vegan Deli/J.Stepaniak)

1 cup of quinoa
2 cups of water
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 cup of minced fresh parsley
1 ripe tomato, diced
4 spring onions, thinly sliced
1/4 cup chopped fresh mint or 2 tsp dried spearmint
1/2 tsp crushed garlic

Place the quinoa in a fine mess strainer, rinse well under running water, stirring it with your fingers. Place in a pot with 2 cups of water and the salt, bring to the boil. Reduce the heat, and simmer for 15 minutes or until tender. Remove from the heat, cover, and let rest for 10 minutes. Fluff up. 

Combine the lemon juice and olive oil, and add to the quinoa. Stir in the parsley, tomato, spring onions, mint, and garlic, and mix well. Cover tightly and marinate the salad in the fridge for 4 to 12 hours. The longer the better! 

Humble Chickpea Salad
(Recipe from Vegan Deli/J.Stepaniak)


2 cups of drained cooked chickpeas
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp ground cumin
pinch of cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp crushed garlic
2 tbsp minced fresh parsley
Salt to season to taste


Place the beans in a large bowl. Add the remaining ingredients and toss gently. Chill before serving. Enjoy!

Once again, apologies for the quality of the photos...it is being worked on...~Red~