Scrumptious Swiss chard salad

We all know that dark leafy greens are good for us but most of us don't eat enough of them. We can be honest and say that they are not that tasty and that we often prefer other more comforting meals.

But what if we could combine those super healthy ingredients with stuff that makes our bellies satisfied and happy, and still are healthy? That would be an answer, right?

I created this amazing warm salad which ticks all the boxes, so let's start cooking! We will combine simple quinoa with chickpeas, herby breadcrumbs and lots of Swiss chard. There are different textures, many colors and great spices. You will experience explosion of flavors in your mouth and I'm not joking.

We will need (4 servings):

1 big bunch of Swiss chard
2 thick slices of wholemeal bread
350 g canned chickpeas
150 g quinoa
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp ground cumin
1 small dried chilli
10 leaves of fresh oregano
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
Salt and pepper to taste
Orange zest (optional)

We will start with the Swiss chard. Cut the stalks in thin pieces - the thinner the pieces, the less time you will need to cook them. Tear the leaves into big chunks.

Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a large sauce pan and add the stalks. Bake them for 4 minutes or until they are tender. Add the leaves and bake for another 3 minutes. Once done, set aside.

Cook quinoa (1 quinoa: 2 water) for about 15-20 minutes - read the label on the package. Set aside. You can add orange zest to the quinoa if you want to have it perfumed.

Making these delicious breadcrumbs is a lot of fun. They smell amazing and you want to it the chunks directly from the pan.

Cut your bread slices into smaller chunks. Heat 2 tbsp olive oil and add your bread chunks, salt and pepper. Bake them for about 5 minutes or until lightly golden brown. While baking, cut the garlic into small pieces. Once lightly golden brown add the garlic and bake for 2 more minutes. Then add cumin, fresh oregano and smoked paprika and bake for 30 seconds.

Remove bread from the pan and add it to the food processor. Pulse the mixture until you create consistency similar to breadcrumbs.

Now we have chard, quinoa and breadcrumbs ready. Easy peasy!

We're coming to the last step, or the step before eating what we cooked.

Add chickpeas to the sauce pan and heat it up. Add breadcrumbs, quinoa and Swiss chard and heat everything up. Serve immediately.

The mixture will turn pinkish from the Swiss chard. It's so pretty! It might look like a girly meal but it is not. It's truly full of flavors and those texture are amazing. Happy days!

Oh, and my husband loved it.

Thank you for visiting!

Cheers!