Mock Tuna Salad with Chickpeas and Quinoa

Ingredients

• 1 cup water
• ½ cup quinoa
• 1 (19 ounce) can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), rinsed and drained
• 1 large carrot, peeled and roughly chopped
• 1 rib celery, roughly chopped
• ½ cup sunflower seeds
• ¼ cup shredded cabbage
• ¼ onion, chopped
• ¼ cup sliced almonds
• ¼ cup raisins
• ½ cup reduced-fat mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons honey Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon dried kelp flakes
• 1 ½ teaspoons sweet pickle relish
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• freshly ground black pepper to taste

Step 1

Bring some water to a boil in a saucepan, then add the quinoa. Turn the heat down to medium-low, cover the pot, and let it simmer for about 15 to 20 minutes, until the quinoa is tender and the water has been absorbed. Once it’s done, fluff it up with a fork and pop it in the fridge to cool.

Step 2

While the quinoa is chilling, toss the chickpeas, carrot, celery, sunflower seeds, cabbage, and onion into a food processor. Pulse everything a few times until the pieces are roughly the same size—you want a nice mix but not a puree. Transfer this mixture to a big bowl.

Step 3

Stir in the cooled quinoa along with the almonds and raisins. Add in the mayonnaise, mustard, kelp flakes, relish, lemon juice, and season with salt and pepper. Give everything a good mix until it’s all evenly combined and tastes just right.