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 brown rice or quinoa works too
- 1/2 cup fresh mint chopped
- 1/4 cup fresh cilantro chopped
- 1/2 cup roasted red bell pepper we use the jarred variety from Trader Joe's
- 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
- 3-4 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic chopped
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 drop coconut nectar or maple syrup if the dressing is too tangy for your little one
-
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.
This sounds like a great salad for July when you’re here. Dad