Summer is upon us…finally! Kula Baby and I are tired of the soups and root vegetables of winter and early spring. In honor of summer munching, I thought I’d pass along a fun salad we’ve been eating in our house between trips to the beach. I’ve adapted this recipe from Jamie Oliver’s Really Tasty Rice Salad recipe found in the cookbook: C is for Cooking (obviously a Sesame Street publication–we like it). This recipe is easy to adapt to your child’s personal preferences. Add favorite veggies, a little cheese—anything your child desires. The lemon dressing adapts to almost any salad ingredient combination.
Lemon Cilantro Chickpea Salad
2 cups cooked organic short grain brown rice (or quinoa works too)
1/2 cup chopped fresh mint and cilantro
1/2 cup of roasted red bell pepper (we use the jarred variety from Trader Joes)
1/2 cup organic chickpeas (if using canned chickpeas, just spritz them with a little lemon before tossing in the bowl)
Salt and pepper to taste
Dressing
3-4 tbsp fresh squeezed lemon
1/2 cup organic olive oil
2 cloves chopped garlic
salt, pepper
1 drop of agave nectar or maple syrup if the dressing is too tangy for your little one
Directions:
Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Drizzle dressing to taste and serve.
Variations:
I like this salad scooped on top of a bed of greens from the farmer’s market. Yum. Yum. Yum.
