Nutritious Mixed Grains Mediterranean Salad that is packed with fiber, flavor and deliciousness.
We are half through this week’s ‘Whole grain recipes’ theme and today’s dish is packed with whole grain goodness. This Mixed grain Mediterranean salad is easy to make and the only time consuming part of the dish is cooking the grains. It is worth making a big bowl of mixed grains, freeze the extra and you have wholesome meal in no time on another day.
Recently I have been looking to replace our daily consumption of rice with whole grains. It is a little difficult because being a Sound Indian, rice is a daily matter for us. That was the reason why I wanted to do this week of Whole Grain recipes, so I get a chance to try new recipes and them to my repertoire. Thankfully I have quite a few interesting recipes and would definitely making them often now.
I bought a blend of ancient grains from Costco recently. It is a mix of pre-cooked bulgur, barley, wheat berries, red rice, oats and quinoa. Since the grains are precooked, this mix is quick and easy to cook. But if you using regular grains, then I would suggest soaking them for 4~6 hours. That would help in making the grains more easily digestible and quicker to cook.
While the grains are cooking, marinate peppers and onion in vinegar and olive oil. Mix the veggies with cooked grains and herbs, and you have a filling meal in no time. I added some chickpeas to add protein to the dish and make it a one pot meal.
Here are some of my favorite Whole Grain salads:
Warm Millet Salad with Brussels Sprouts, dried Cranberries and Walnuts
Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 87.
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Mixed Grain Mediterranean Salad Recipe
Ingredients
To make the Grains:
- 1 cup Mixed Grains (Rice, quinoa, oats, barley etc.)*
- 2~2½ cups Vegetable Stock or Water
- 1 Garlic clove, quartered
- 1 Small Onion, chopped
- 2 tbsp parsley
- 1 tbsp olive oil
For the Salad:
- 1 Small Red Onion, thinly chopped
- 1 Small Yellow Pepper, finely chopped
- 1 Small Red Pepper, finely chopped
- 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- ¼ cup Black Olives
- 1 cup Cooked Chickpeas
- 2 tbsp Fresh Basil, finely chopped
- 2 tbsp Cilantro, finely chopped
- To taste Salt Pepper
Instructions
- Combine onions and peppers in a small bowl and add vinegar and olive oil. Mix well and set aside to marinate for 30 minutes.
- In the mean time, combine the mixed grains with 2cups of water . Bring to a boil, lower the heat, cover and cook until all the water is absorbed and grains are tender, about 20~30 minutes. If using regular (not pre-cooked) grains, then adjust the water quantity and cooking time.
- Combine cooked grains, marinated veggies, olives, chickpeas, fresh herbs, olive oil, red wine vinegar, salt and pepper. Mix gently, taste and adjust the seasoning. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Notes
- Soak the grains for 4~6 hours to expedite the cooking process.
Srividhya Gopalakrishnan
I love red wine vinegar on my salads. Red wine vinegar + bell peppers + olives – that’s more than enough for me to bookmark this recipe. 🙂 Mixing different grains is a great idea Pavani.
Sandhiya
Wow, what a wholesome meal you got here !!! Sounds absolutely healthy. Yeah, you’re right, being a south indian, it’s really tough to skip rice !!!
Priya Suresh
Wow, that bowl of salad looks wholesome, filling, satisfying and super healthy. And this mixed grains mediterranean salad looks very catchy and definitely my kind of food.
Harini
I must get this pack of ancient grains, Pavani. this sounds like something we might like. Very colorful and appealing.
Sharmila - The Happie Friends Potpourri Corner
Loved your entire salad series and this both is full of healthy grains.. Yummy share..
Vaishali Sabnani
The mixed grain pack sounds like a nutrition packed bag and it is wonderful to see such a healthy bowl of meal. Clean eating !..must say the bowl is something I would love to dig in..Doubt if I can get such a mix , but surely I can make my own.
Gayathri Kumar
You are rocking with all the whole grain salads Pavani. This one looks so colourful and a filling meal by itself..
kalyani
oh wow…. what a stunner – the recipe, the clicks, and the flavours… yum yum yum !! someone please make me that salad, pls !
Mayuri Patel
Wow! A wholesome healthy and filling meal. I wish we could get all those whole grain precooked items here. Many times I want to experiment with different grains but can’t unless I remember to buy the ingredients whenever I visit Canada.
Srivalli
All your salads look and sound so exotic Pavani, though I am not a big salad person your pictures surely make me want to try them..very nicely assembled one..
Manjula Bharath
wow pavani I am just becoming a fan of your salads. lately, you have made so many amazing salad .. This mediterranean salad looks mindblowing and perfect wholesome bowl of goodness.. Anything with rice in it am in and a salad with rice and other mixed grains sounds so interesting. You make the dish look royal with your captures, no extra props , simple set up and elegantly food styled !! Top notch photography skills you have 🙂
Priya Srinivasan
Wow pavani that looks amazing! Nice use of mixed grains! That sad with vinegar and olive oil must be very refreshing ❤️ A colorful and wholesome meal!
sapana
I love Mediterranean flavors in the salads and this one with mixed whole grains is one stop dish for healthy and tasty salad. I would love to try it soon but have to cook my grains first as I don’t think I could find the precooked ones here.
Sandhya Ramakrishnan
This will be a great summer salad and a wonderful choice to take to barbecue/grilling parties. Love the idea of using mixed grains rather than limiting our choices to one.
Suma Gandlur
Loving your choice of salads this week, Pavani. This one with that ancient grains’ medley too looks and sounds amazing.
Padmajha PJ
The ancient grain mix sounds interesting. Will have to try and get what is available here and make out own mix, i guess. As you said, as a S.Indian, very hard to forego rice!