Mediterranean Chicken & Quinoa Salad
This easy to prepare dish is just delicious for a mid-week meal or a take to work lunch. The tasty chicken complements the quinoa beautifully
Ingredients
Mediterranean Chicken
- 2 chicken breasts, skinless
- 1 tbps olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic (finely chopped)
- 1 red chili (finely chopped, seeds removed)
- 1 pinch salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper (freshly ground)
Salad
- 1 onion (thinly sliced)
- 1/2 cup tomatoes (finely diced)
- 1/4 cup black olives (pitted)
- 1 cup cucumber (chopped)
- 1/2 cup feta cheese (crumbled)
- 6-7 mint leaves (chopped)
Dressing
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1/4 tsp lemon zest
- 1 pinch salt
Quinoa
- 1 cup quinoa
- 2 cups water
Instructions
Cooking the Quinoa
- Pour the quinoa into a fine-mesh strainer and rinse under running water for at least 30 seconds. Drain well. This step removes any bitterness from the outside of the quinoa
- Combine the rinsed quinoa and water in to a saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat, then decrease the heat a bit to maintain a gentle simmer. Cook until the quinoa has absorbed all of the water, about 10 to 20 minutes.
- Remove the pot from heat, cover, and let the quinoa steam for 5 minutes.
Preparing the Mediterranean Chicken
- Put olive oil, garlic, red chili, a big pinch of salt, and freshly ground black pepper in a zip lock bag. Add chicken, toss to coat, and allow it to marinate in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.
Preparing the Salad Dressing
- Take a small container and pour extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice, lemon zest, salt, and mix it well.
Cooking the Mediterranean Chicken
- Now transfer this marinated chicken to a cooking pan and let it cook for 5 minutes on each side or until the chicken is fully cooked. Chicken is fully cooked when there is no pink inside.
- Take a large mixing bowl and combine tomatoes, pomegranate seeds, onion, olives, cucumber, and feta along with chopped mint and pour the dressing over it.
- Toss it with the spoon.
- Add cooked quinoa over it and mix them well, topped with sliced chicken.
