Rice, Chickpea & Feta Salad
If you make one salad this summer, it must be this one. Refreshing, delicious, and so satisfying.
Time to read: 3 mins | Time to make: 5 minutes + 20 cook time | Yields: 2-3 servings
This salad got to me through a trend called: "The Jennifer Aniston Salad." I like healthy trends and was curious to jump on this one; it is worth all the hype. It turns out that someone made up that Jennifer ate this particular salad every day during Friends, but that does not matter. We found our go-to summer lunch.
Ingredients
1 cup (40 g) cooked brown rice*
1/2 small can (125 g) chickpeas**, drained and rinsed
2 small or one medium cucumber, chopped
1/4 cup parsley, chopped
1/4 cup mint, chopped
1/3 medium red onion, chopped
2/3 cup (40 g) mix walnuts and pumpkin seeds**
1/2 cup (2.2 oz / 65 g) crumbled feta****
Dressing:
1/2 to 1 lemon, juice*****
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt & black pepper
Method
RICE
To cook brown rice quicker, soak it in the water (1:2 ratio) for 2 hours or longer in advance.
Bring the rice and the soaking water, with salt and pepper to taste, to a boil; reduce heat; cover and simmer for 20 minutes, or until water evaporates and rice is fluffy. Fluff it with a fork as it cools.
If rice is not presoaked, it will take 40 to 45 minutes to cook.
SALAD
Combine all salad ingredients in the bigger bowl. Gently mix all of the ingredients together.
To taste, top with fresh lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and black pepper.
Set aside 10-15 minutes to allow the flavors to come together or serve immediately.
Notes
RICE: The original recipe calls for bulgur. I had brown rice on hand, and it worked perfectly. I think farro and quinoa would work great as well.
WALNUTS: The original recipe calls for pistachios. I had walnuts on hand, plus I learned that they are the healthiest nuts, so why not make this substitution?
CHICKPEAS: Here are the instructions if you want to cook chickpeas from scratch.
FETA: I have not tried plant-based alternatives. If you want to make this salad vegan, try adding avocado instead of feta and maybe lime juice instead of lemon.
LEMON JUICE: It depends on how juicy your lemon is and your taste preference - I used almost one whole lemon because I find it more refreshing.
Nutrition facts, per 1/3 of salad:
Energy: 416kcal | Carbs: 28 g | Protein: 12 g | Fat: 30 g
