Protein Power Bowl: Quinoa, Roasted Chickpea, & Arugula Salad

quinoa_arugula_chickpea_sundried_tomato_salad

This recipe was born from two very different dining experiences, in two very different places.

Last year my husband and I were in Las Vegas, celebrating a friend's 50th birthday with three other couples. The guys were out doing manly things (car racing) while us ladies hung out by the pool. We ventured inside to grab some lunch and I had the most incredible arugula and quinoa salad, with slices of sundried tomatoes. I thought about that salad incessantly for months after and tried to recreate the dressing, without huge success.

Then, last December our family was in Disney World, and at our resort was a cafeteria in which a salad could be custom prepared to your own specifications. Oh! It was an amazing salad. So many different kinds of lettuce and vegetables, along with beans, tofu cubes, nuts, and seeds were involved in my huge salad. That would be incredible enough, but it was topped off with the most delicious dressing. On my third or fourth day of salads, I found out it was a Cobb dressing. I had never had a Cobb salad in my life, and I probably won't ever have a Cobb salad in my life, but that dressing. That dressing though.

And so this salad was born. I topped it off with roasted chickpeas, because of course I did. It's a protein-rich bowl of power, and it makes me think happily of those two wonderful vacations when I eat it.

Chewie would like this Power Bowl too, I'm sure.

Ingredients

For the Salad

1 cup uncooked quinoa

1-14 ounce can chickpeas, rinsed and drained

1 tablespoon olive oil

sea salt and cracked black pepper

1/2 cup sundried tomatoes, chopped

4 cups loosely-packed arugula

For the Dressing

3 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1 tablespoon lemon juice

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/4 cup olive oil

Prepare quinoa according to package directions; allow to cool. MAKE AHEAD: prepare quinoa the night before, or use leftover quinoa.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Toss chickpeas in 1 tablespoon olive oil; arrange in a single layer on a baking sheet. Sprinkle with sea salt and cracked black pepper. Roast in the oven for 25 minutes, flipping once halfway through.

Whisk together dressing ingredients.

Pour dressing over cooled quinoa; add sundried tomatoes and toss to coat.

Just before serving, add arugula and chickpeas. Enjoy!

NOTE: Keep arugula and chickpeas separate until ready to serve.