I stopped eating quinoa for a while. Quinoa is a big part of the staple diet in Peru and Bolivia where it has been grown for millions of year. The recent fascination with this ‘ancient grain’ has pushed up prices so much that the people in Peru and Bolivia cannot afford to buy it anymore.
It was pretty disappointing because quinoa is so versatile and relatively high in protein but I didn’t want to contribute to health problems for Peruvians. Then I heard that some enterprising Tasmanian farmers were growing organic quinoa- good for the environment, good for us, and no starving Peruvians. Hooray.
The idea for this salad came to me when I was playing along with She Who Rambles 30 days of salad on Instagram. I wanted something spicy and warm but also salady… tah dah! The combination of roasted sweet potato, nutty quinoa and spicy chickpeas with an earthy tahini dressing is just so good. This salad is also high in protein from the quinoa and legumes so just perfect for vegetarians.
Crunchy pepitas sprinkled on top add a lovely crunch- I’m all about texture, and the tahini is just so damn good for you. Healthy, vegetarian, gluten-free and the leftovers make a perfect lunch the next day. This will serve four as a main or if you are a bit of a carnivore you can pop some meat on the side.
To drink?
Something crisp and dry like a lovely fragrant Clare Valley Riesling.
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- 2 small-medium kumara
- 1/2 cup quinoa
- 1 400g (16 oz.) can chickpeas
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1/2-1 tsp smoked paprika
- Pinch turmeric
- 1/4 cup pepitas
- 2 handfuls rocket
- olive oil
- squeeze of lemon
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1/2 cup yoghurt
- 1 TBSP lemon juice
- 1 tsp tahini
- 1 tsp olive oil
- Preheat oven to 200C/390F
- Peel kumara and cut into fingers before tossing in olive oil and cumin. Roast for 40 minutes. After 20 minutes add the garlic (skin on) to the tray.
- Meanwhile cook quinoa according to pack directions, with turmeric in the cooking water.
- Heat a frypan over medium heat, and lightly toast pepitas. Remove to cool.
- In the same frypan add a drizzle of olive oil and lightly fry chickpeas and paprika for a few minutes until lightly coloured and aromatic. Set aside.
- Once kumara and quinoa are cooked, allow to cool for about 10 minutes.
- In a large bowl place kumara, chickpeas, quinoa, half the pepitas, rocket, a squeeze of lemon, a drizzle of olive oil and toss gently to mix without breaking up kumara. Season to taste.
- Serve drizzled with yoghurt dressing and topped with toasted pepitas.
- Squeeze roasted garlic from the skins and mash lightly.
- Add yoghurt, tahini, lemon juice and olive oil and stir to combine.
I didn’t know that about quinoa :(, thanks for talking about it! It’s awful how trendy and destructive some food has gotten when most of us just want to be healthy and ethical. I love that some Tassie farmers are growing it – do you know where it can be sourced?
Onto your gorgeous recipe! Spicy chickpeas, sweet potato and with creamy dressing, yes please, it looks wonderful.
I have managed to pick some up from a wholefoods store where it was available by weight but you could email http://www.kindredorganics.com.au/ and find out if they have any stockists local to you. I believe there are also some growers in Western Australia now too so hopefully it will become much easier to source as demand increases.
Thanks Nicole 🙂
I eat quinoa once in a while but always fail to make an interesting meal out of it. This looks and sounds great, will give it a try sometime!
Yeah, I’ve had some fairly bland quinoa moments too. Let me know how it goes 🙂
I didn’t know that about the Peruvian quinoa crisis – thanks for the heads up. My hubster AKA the fussy eater, is very anti-quinoa and I’m always looking for ways to turn him. This lovely looking salad could be just the ticket! As it is, I have all these ingredients on hand and I’m totally going to give this a try over the holidays. Consider it pinned!
Hooray. Let me know how it goes (or tag me in a pic 🙂 )
YUM! I am not much of a cook myself, but I do appreciate tasty food from around the world! I might give this a go cooking this though, looks amazing!
That’s great. It’s pretty easy. Let me know what you think 🙂
Yum, I’m always keen for a good quinoa recipe!
I’m loving your wine matching tips! I didn’t realise that about quinoa and the overseas countries. Nice to know theres a local option too! Such a yummy sounding salad! xx
Such lovely feedback 🙂 Thank you x
Yummo. I do a version of this but had not thought to add chic peas or pepitas! They look like nice additions.
That looks absolutely delicious. I have some pumpkin in the fridge so I might try that instead of the sweet potato – I think that substitution would still work well.
It definitely would 🙂
Thanks for the mention hun xx
Yum! I stopped eating quinoa until I could find Australian grown quinoa as well, it’s scary the impact we can have on traditional producers without even realising
Isn’t it! And so many people don’t know about it.
YES! The more people realise about the impact of trendy quinoa the better. I’m all for Aussie quinoa (well… Australian grown anything really!)
Hooray! I think a lot of people feel the same, they just don’t know about the issues yet.
I feel so naive at the moment that I never even thought about the effect on the Peruvians. I do love Quinoa. And this recipe looks delicious. Pinning for my recipes next week.
If you don’t know, you don’t know. That’s part of why I wrote this. I hope you enjoy it 🙂
Oh I love a salad, especially those that kick it with flavour & this sounds delicious! Yum yum yum…