This delectable Apple Cake has a slightly crunchy crust and a soft moist center that is loaded with chunks of sweet apple and pecans. It is perfectly spiced with cinnamon, ground cloves and nutmeg. It is lightly drizzled with an easy four ingredient caramel sauce. I make this cake several times each fall for bake sales, potlucks and family and friend get-togethers.

This easy ratatouille recipe is a classic summer French stew filled with vibrant, colourful and nutritious vegetables: tomatoes, zucchini and eggplant. It is a low-carb, gluten-free and vegan dish that can be made in one pan and served atop greens or grains, as a side to a main entrée, or all on its own.

Quinoa Salad

Quinoa has always been one of my favorite grains. I love the subtle crunch that it has when cooked and that it is so high in protein. It’s been slowly rising to stardom recently. It’s a grain-like crop grown for its edible seeds. It’s considered a “pseudocereal,” whatever that means—not a true cereal, not a grain, since it’s not a grass. It’s related to species like beets, spinach and tumbleweeds. It is 6,000 years old and is native to the Andean region of South America. The main reason its star is on the rise here is because of its incredible nutritional value, but I like it because it takes on so many other flavors as a salad. So when I saw this Quinoa Salad with Chickpeas, Kalamata Olives & Mint recipe by the fabulous Dara of Cookin Canuck, I knew I wanted to give it a try.

Here is what you will need: quinoa, white wine vinegar, salt, pepper, olive oil, tomato, Kalamata olives, garbanzo beans, honey, lemon and fresh mint.

I just love fresh mint in the summer.

Get the quinoa cooking in water while you prep the rest of the ingredients.

Once it is fluffy, let it cool. You can even be very smart about it like Dara was and lay it out on a sheet to help it cool quickly and evenly.

Next chop the Kalamata olives roughly.

Then make a small dice with the fresh tomato. You could also use cherry tomatoes or grape tomatoes here, whatever is easiest!

Combine the tomatoes, olives and garbanzos in a bowl and set aside.

To make the dressing, squeeze some lemon juice into a small bowl.

Next add the white wine vinegar. You could also add another vinegar that you have on hand: cider vinegar, red wine vinegar, champagne vinegar or whatever else suits your fancy.

Next comes the honey. We just harvested the honey from our bees so this was hot off the presses, or rather hot off the hives. It’s very light and floral tasting, perfect for a salad.

Add a little sprinkle of salt!

Some peppa …

And a drizzle of olive oil. Whisk it all together.

Then comes the fresh mint, which you chop into a chiffonade or even tear up by hand.

Add the quinoa and the fresh mint and stir it all together until it’s nicely mixed.

Then drizzle in your dressing. The quinoa will soak up some of the dressing and be even more delicious.

This makes a wonderful cold salad for a summer party, or also slightly warm.

Thanks to Dara for this tasty recipe. Check out her website Cookin Canuck for more!

Printable Recipe

Quinoa Salad with Chickpeas, Kalamata Olives & Mint

by cookincanuck on July 20, 2011 in Sides

See post on cookincanuck’s site!

4.00 Mitt(s) 2 Rating(s) 2 votes, average: 4.00 out of 5

Description

If you loaded the amount of quinoa our family eats in one year into a small boat, that vessel would sink to the bottom of the sea faster than you could say “healthy mini grain” five times fast. This salad is another example of our healthy obsession.

Ingredients

1 cup Quinoa
2 cups Water
1 can (14 Oz.) Chickpeas, Drained And Rinsed
1-½ cup Quartered Cherry Tomatoes
½ cups Pitted And Sliced Kalamata Olives
2 Tablespoons White Wine Vinegar
1 Tablespoon Fresh Lemon Juice
¾ teaspoons Honey
½ teaspoons Kosher Salt
¼ teaspoons Freshly Ground Black Pepper
¼ cups Extra Virgin Olive Oil
4 leaves Fresh Mint, Thinly Sliced

Preparation Instructions

In a fine-mesh strainer, rinse quinoa well and drain.

In a medium pot, combine quinoa and water. Bring to a boil, then cover the pot and turn heat to low. Cook until all the water is absorbed, about 20 minutes. Remove from the heat, fluff the quinoa and transfer to a cookie sheet, spreading the quinoa in a thin layer, to cool.

In a large bowl, mix together cooled quinoa, chickpeas, tomatoes and kalamata olives. Stir well.

For the dressing, whisk together white wine vinegar, lemon juice, honey, salt, and pepper in a medium bowl. While whisking constantly, slow pour in the olive oil until combined.

Pour the dressing over the quinoa salad, toss to coat and stir in fresh mint. Serve.

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There’s so much to say about Georgia, we don’t know where to start. Leaving Wall Street for the French Culinary Institute, followed by a stint at the Gramercy Tavern and La Chassagnette in France, her passion for food and food traditions are evident and inspiring. Visit her site at Georgia Pellegrini, where you’ll find more recipes, photos, learn all about her wonderful book Food Heroes, and enjoy her latest adventures.

31 Comments

Comments are closed for this recipe.

Nancy on 9.10.2011

Wow, that’s an awesome bowl!!!

Sue H on 9.10.2011

I love quinoa! Thank you for giving me another recipe to try! Zee… I do agree about the bitterness.. I usually rinse mine and then let it soak for about 5 minutes, drain and rinse again. Walah…….no bitterness!

Jeanne on 9.10.2011

This dish and I mean the bowl, is absolutely beautiful! My momma collects this pattern and I hunt for them when I get the lovely chance to go flea marketing! Do you know what the bowl was make for. Like, it is a compote dish, relish, or something else? I know it’s moonstone but I’ve never seen it in my hunts.

Julie R on 9.9.2011

Yumm! So good. Made it last night for my kiddies and just swapped in apple cider vinegar for them. So delish! Thanks!

Zee Hamm on 9.9.2011

The quinoa salad recipes looks very tasty and I will be trying it. I have been using quinoa more recently and really like it. I used it instead of rice to accompany the red beans I cooked last week. I do find that it is very important to throughly rinse the grain before cooking it. It is easy with a very fine mesh strainer over a bowl filled with water. There really is a bitter taste if you do not rinse it.

Pam Mastin on 9.9.2011

I really, really wanted to like quinoa…and I do like the flavor. But am I the only one who thinks those little squiggly things make them look like little critters with tails? Sorry, I just can’t get past it.

Fran Neff on 9.9.2011

The salad sounds good, but I LOVE the Hobnail Glass dish!

Chris Devon on 9.9.2011

I just can’t get past that picture, the quinoa looks like fish eggs! LOL

Katrina on 9.9.2011

Love this! Looks so yummy

Christine L. on 9.9.2011

mmmm awesome! My vegetarian daughter introduced our family to Quinoa and I haven’t yet tried it cold. I’m definitely going to give this recipe a try, thank you for posting it!

Jenna on 9.9.2011

absolutely LOVE quinoa! Thanks for the great recipe. x

Anya on 9.9.2011

The recipe sounds great, but that quinoa looks a little… not great. I really like the Epicurious way of cooking it, as in their recipe here for quinoa with black beans and tomato (just look at it for the cooking method) — the result is perfect, fluffy quinoa:
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Black-Bean-and-Tomato-Quinoa-238939

JanetK on 9.8.2011

Love Quinoa!!! I cook it at least once a week if not more…..and I am currently reading “Food Heroes”…a Fantastic book!!!

Terri in Jax on 9.8.2011

I need advice here, y’all. I have tried mint in several recipes, and my husband and I, both adventurous eaters, hate it! We looove quinoa and kalamatas, though, so I’m thinking basil would be a good substitute in this salad – what do you think?? And I agree with the other posters – the bowl is to die for!!

Darrylin on 9.8.2011

Where is the best place to buy quinoa? I have been wanting to try it. I saw a small box at walmart for $4.95.

Tiff @ Love Sweat and Beers on 9.8.2011

That looks great! I’ve been eating quinoa salad all week for lunch. It’s so filling!

Terry in Divide on 9.8.2011

LOVE quinoa. The first recipe I saw said to rinse it well in cold water before cooking to avoid a bitter (or something like that) taste. I haven’t noticed that on the packaging anymore, but I’m chicken to try without it. It only takes a minute or so, no biggie.

The first time I cooked it, biologist Hubster proclaimed the cooked product resembled some kind of parasite, but at least he likes it, and it’s more of a joke now. “Oh, we’re having parasites for dinner again.”

My challenge with this (and anything else cooked in boiling water) is that I recently moved from sea level (Orlando, FL) to 9100 feet (Divide, CO). Nothing cooks in the time given on the package.

Amy Lucille on 9.8.2011

My maid of honor made a similar quinoa salad for my bridal shower. The olives and quinoa play so nice together.. so yummy!

Sarah on 9.8.2011

It’s probably a bad thing that I read this when I was hungry. As a vegetarian, I can’t get enough Quinoa! Looks delicious! Thanks for the recipe!

Cheralyn Mae on 9.8.2011

Love that bowl!!! I can’t hardly focus on the recipe because all I really want to know is how I can get my hands on one like it!

Erin in AR on 9.8.2011

Its like you are spying on me! I made a quinoa salad over the weekend for lunches this week. Didn’t add the garbanzo beans to it but certainly will next time. I’m moving soon and didn’t want to buy a whole jar of olives so I paid a visit to the olive bar at my grocery store and was able to add in lots of other yummy stuff- peppadews, marinated mushrooms, feta, etc. It can be different every time. I love how quick quinoa can cook!