Vegetables, quinoa and pesto are an amazing trio. The vegetables provide a great variety of textures, quinoa gives the salad a satisfying starch component and the pesto infuses the whole salad with flavor and just the right amount of richness. It really is a treat for the taste buds!

Plus it is so pretty! I love the bright red of the peppers and the deep color of the olives in contrast to the neutral color of the quinoa and garbanzo beans. You do not need to limit yourself to one serving either because all of the ingredients are good for you! It keeps really well too which allows you to make it when you have time and enjoy it later. I love having this salad on hand in the summer to go along with our grilled meals. This recipe makes a big salad so you can enjoy it as a side dish for many meals if you are not feeding a lot of people. Or you can cut it in half if that works better for you.

Instructions:

Mediterranean Quinoa Salad

• 1 ½ cups quinoa cooked in 3 cups water and then cooled
• 4 cups diced sweet peppers or 4 cups diced tomatoes or a combination of both
• 1- 6 ounce can medium black olives, drained (6 ounces is the drained weight )
• 2- 15 ounce cans garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
• 1- 7 ounce jar basil pesto (about ⅔ cup)
• ⅓ cup red wine vinegar
• ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• Salt to taste (I used 1 teaspoon salt)

Cut each olive into 3 pieces. Mix together the quinoa, sweet peppers and/or tomatoes, olives and garbanzo beans in a big bowl. In a small bowl or measuring cup combine the pesto, red wine vinegar, olive oil and sugar and whisk well. Pour this dressing over the quinoa and vegetables and mix well. Salt to taste (I added 1 teaspoon of salt). Chill before serving. This makes about 12- 1 cup servings.