Mediterranean Quinoa Salad

This Mediterranean Quinoa salad is the ideal salad for spring and summer. It’s light and refreshing with all the summery flavors you’d come to expect in classic Mediterranean cuisine. I love making this salad ahead of when we’ll eat it because it tastes best when the flavors have gotten a chance to marry.

As you’ll see in this episode, making this salad is a snap. The longest part of it is procuring the ingredients and preparing them for assembly. I really like to have them all prepared and pre-measured ahead of time, and then simply combine them all to make the salad. This makes it a lot easier for me and ensures that the ingredients are tossed together evenly so the salad is well-balanced with each bite.

These classic flavors will pair well with almost anything you want to serve as your main course. It’s so nice to have a salad like this on hand because it is so adaptable! I like to serve it with grilled shrimp or chicken in the summer, or even my favorite grilled branzino. You almost can’t go wrong, there is really nothing this won’t work well with.

When I’m catering, I often serve this as a side dish, or even make it fancy by molding it in a ramekin before inverting it onto a plate. It’s always a popular choice because it’s light enough for a luncheon, but still filling so guests are satiated by the end of the meal. At home I like to make a big bowl of this and have it for lunch over the course of a few days, it always hits the spot and is a healthy grab-and-go option for my family.

I love this great salad and really think you will, too. Play with it and add different flavors in accordance with your preferences. It is endlessly adaptable and is guaranteed to be a hit whenever you serve it to friends and family. Enjoy!

Mediterranean Quinoa Salad

This is a refreshing and flavorful salad that is the perfect side dish or light meal on its own. It has all the hallmarks of a classic Mediterranean salad with the quintessential flavors you’d expect.

Makes 4-6 servings

• 1 cup uncooked quinoa

• 2 cups water

• 1 15 ounce can of chickpeas, rinsed and drained

• 1/4 chopped red onion

• 1/2 chopped cucumber

• 1/2 chopped tomato

• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

• 1/4 cup chopped fresh mint

• 1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese

• 1/4 cup kalamata olives, pitted and chopped

For the Dressing:

• ½ cup olive oil

• 1/4 cup lemon juice

• 1 tsp. dried oregano

• 1 teaspoon Salt

• ¼ teaspoon cracked pepper, to taste

Instructions:

1. Rinse quinoa and combine with water in a medium saucepan.

2. Bring everything to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer for 15-20 minutes, until the quinoa is tender, and the water is absorbed.

3. Fluff the quinoa with a fork and transfer to a large mixing bowl.

4. Add the chickpeas, red onion, cucumber, tomato, parsley, mint, feta cheese, and kalamata olives to the bowl with the quinoa.

5. In a small bowl, whisk together lemon juice, olive oil, oregano, salt, and pepper.

6. Pour dressing over the quinoa salad and toss everything well to coat.

7. Serve this salad chilled or at room temperature.

Nikki Glekas is the owner of Nikki Glekas Events, a full-service catering and events company located in Stamford, CT.. To discuss further please contact team@nikkiglekascollective.com or call 203.658.8659.