The Jennifer Aniston Salad

Course: Sides, Salads and Soups
Category: Vegetarian
Oat Type: Steel Cut Oats
Servings: 8

Ingredients

Salad:

  • 1 can or 1 cup cooked chickpeas
  • ½ cup steel cut oats
  • ½ cup raw quinoa
  • 2 cups water or broth
  • 1 cup chopped seedless cucumber
  • ½ cup parsley chopped
  • ½ cup mint minced
  • ½ cup red onion chopped
  • ½ cup chopped pistachios
  • ½ cup feta cheese
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil

Dressing:

  • ¼ cup lemon juice
  • ¼ cup olive oil
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

  • Wash the quinoa and oatmeal. Do not skip this step because we are removing the bitter taste from the quinoa.
  • Heat the olive oil in a large skillet with a lid and add the quinoa and steel-cut oats. Cook for 2-3 minutes to brown slightly.
  • Add the broth or water and bring to a boil.
  • When it is boiling, cover the pot, lower the heat and let it cook for 15 minutes.
  • After time there should be no water left. Cover again and let stand with the fire off for 15 minutes. These extra minutes finish the cooking and are important for a good result.
  • While you wait you can prepare the other ingredients, cut the cucumber, onion and fresh herbs.
  • With a fork mix the quinoa and steel cut oats, empty into a bowl. If you feel it is very hot, let it rest for 5 to 10 minutes since we do not want the herbs to wither.
  • Add the chickpeas, cucumber, onion, pistachios, feta cheese, mint and parsley.
  • Season with lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper to taste. You can eat right away and let it sit in the fridge so the flavors meld.

Video

Notes

Where to buy "Cut Oats": In certain supermarkets they have it with healthy or more gourmet products. You can also find it on Amazon, this is the one I used: https://amzn.to/2DnnnRY
Bulgur:  Change the cut oats for bulgur, same amount and same cooking process that appears in the recipe.