This Middle Eastern inspired salad combines traditional ingredients to form a crunchy and sweet salad. As you can prepare batches ahead, it makes a great healthy lunch recipe that you’ll want to revisit again and again.
Pomegranate molasses, a dark brown juice that’s made from refined pomegranates, is a traditional ingredient in traditional Middle Eastern cooking, is at the centre of this gorgeous salad and adds a sweet flavour to the crunchy grains.
Beetroot provides a healthy does of iron and folic acid and can even help lower blood pressure, as well as tasting great when roasted in the oven with some generous seasoning.
While it does take a little while to cook the beetroot wedges, it’s worth the wait and the whole dish only comes to 510 calories per serving.
This recipe serves four, so either keep it for your lunches throughout the week or treat the hole family – it depends if you want to share!
HOW TO MAKE BEETROOT, QUINOA AND CHICKPEA SALAD
Method
- Heat the oven to 200C, 180C fan, 400F, gas 6. Toss the beetroot wedges with half the olive oil, season and roast in the top of the oven for 40 minutes, until blackened, crispy and chewy.
- Mix the quinoa with the chickpeas, lemon juice and remaining olive oil, and season well. Toss through the parsley. When the beetroot is cooked, toss it through the quinoa mix with the feta and drizzle with the pomegranate molasses.
Ingredients
- 4 raw beetroot, peeled and chopped into wedges
- 4tbsp olive oil
- 250g (9oz) ready-cooked quinoa (we used Merchant Gourmet Red & White Quinoa)
- 400g can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- juice 1 lemon
- 4tbsp finely chopped parsley
- 250g (9oz) feta, broken into chunks
- 4tbsp pomegranate molasses (from Sainsbury’s or Middle Eastern food shops)
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