Roasted cauliflower, chickpea, quinoa & feta salad

(serves 4)

This somewhat Mediterranean style salad was inspired by my ongoing love for roasted cauliflower, and my over-sized Costco packet of silvered almonds. I don't often go vego, but i don't mind it once in awhile, especially when trying to detox from a weekend of eating out too much!
On the scale of vegetarian meals though, i think this one is pretty well-balanced, and surprisingly filling; protein (and crunch!) from the quinoa, chickpeas and almonds, with some dairy goodness from the feta and plenty of fibre from the veggies! The dressing is pretty good, with a bit of a lemony zing, but i can also imagine this salad using a honey mustard dressing as well!

Prep time: 15 min
Cooking time: 45 min (including oven-roasting vegetables)

Ingredients
1/2 cauliflower
2 carrots
1/2 C chickpeas, soaked for 2-3 hours (or use canned chickpeas)
1 C quinoa
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
50-80g feta
Rind and juice of 1/2 lemon
1 punnet cherry tomatoes
100g baby spinach
50g silvered almonds, toasted
1 tsp sumac
salt and pepper
olive oil

Dressing:
1 T tahini
1/2 C warm water
Juice of 1/2 lemon
2 cloves garlic
salt
2 T olive oil
1 tsp sesame seeds, toasted

Method
1. Preheat oven to 180˚C.
2. Cut the cauliflower into bite-size florets, and cut the carrots into 1cm thick strips. Toss vegetables in 1 tsp sumac, salt and pepper and olive oil. Roast for 20-30 minutes until soft and slightly crispy.
3. Cook quinoa in 1.5 C boiling water for 15min, stirring occasionally until water has been soaked in. Remove from heat and set aside.
4. In a saucepan heat 1tsp olive oil. Add in the chopped garlic, then toss in the chickpeas and sauté for 3 minutes. Add in lemon rind and juice and stir through and continue to cook for another 5-10 minutes or until soft. 
5. Add in the roasted vegetables and quinoa.

6. Assemble the dressing by combining all ingredients and stirring until tahini is well-mixed. Add into saucepan.

7. To serve, toss in the baby spinach, cherry tomatoes and sprinkle the feta and silvered almonds on top!