Chickpea & Freekeh Salad

Hello lovelies! I hope everyone is having a fabulous week. I thought I’d put a spotlight on lunch this week. My lunch usually consists of either a smoothie or yogurt with fruit and nuts. Simple, healthy, straightforward, delicious….but a tad boring. So, I have been thinking of different ways to shake up my lunchtime routine. I decided to make a giant batch of grain salad packed with veggies, protein, and some healthy fats. This salad is made with Freekeh, something that I have never made before. I kind of stumbled upon it in the grocery store. It’s an impulse buy that really paid off. Freekeh is an ancient grain that is nutty and chewy. It really held up to all of the add ins and soaked up the dressing nicely.

Ingredients: 

1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed well

3 cups cooked and cooled freekeh

1/2 cup red onion, sliced very thin

1  cucumber, peeled and diced

1/2 cup feta cheese

1/2-3/4 cup flat leaf parsley

zest of 1 lemon

1/2 cup sliced almonds, toasted

red wine vinaigrette:

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

1/2 cup olive oil

1 tbs dijon mustard

1 tbs honey

salt

pepper

1 clove of garlic, microplaned

Directions:

1. Cook freekeh according to package directions and set aside to cool.
2. Toast almonds in a dry pan over medium heat until golden.
3. Place all ingredients for the dressing into a jar and shake until emulsified.
4. In a large bowl, combine all of the salad ingredients except the dressing. You can add this to each serving or dress the entire salad at once depending on your preference. You can also dress the salad lightly and add more to each serving as needed.

P.S. I ended up adding all of the dressing at once and it only got better as the week progressed. I might make this again next week.

Enjoy!

xo Ali Taylor