• 1 (7 ounce) jar roasted red peppers, rinsed

  • ¼ cup slivered almonds

  • 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided

  • 1 small clove garlic, minced

  • 1 teaspoon paprika

  • ½ teaspoon ground cumin

  • ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper (optional)

  • 2 cups cooked quinoa

  • ¼ cup Kalamata olives, chopped

  • ¼ cup finely chopped red onion

  • 1 (15 ounce) can chickpeas, rinsed

  • 1 cup diced cucumber

  • ¼ cup crumbled feta cheese

  • 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley

Directions 

1. Place peppers, almonds, 2 tablespoons oil, garlic, paprika, cumin and crushed red pepper (if using) in a mini food processor. Puree until fairly smooth.

2. Combine quinoa, olives, red onion and the remaining 2 tablespoons oil in a medium bowl.

3. To serve, divide the quinoa mixture among 4 bowls and top with equal amounts of the chickpeas, cucumber and the red pepper sauce. Sprinkle with feta and parsley.

Hot Mama Grade: TBD
Tentatively B+

Hot Mama Notes: I am preparing the night before for vegan Thanksgiving with my brother! I forgot the cucumber, but I will add it tomorrow. That is probably for the best for freshness, anyway! I Ieft the quinoa separate from the chickpea and sauce mixture for storing until tomorrow. I had a taste test, and it was pretty good! But super spicy! And I only crushed up one tiny red pepper. Oops. I would think I'd have learned by now, lol! I didn't use the food processor because I was lazy and didn't want to wash it. Instead I used the hand chopper tool, so maybe it could have been smoother, but I like things chunky, anyway! I also used 1T less oil. Overall, I think it will taste much better with the cucumber! Also, I think it would be good to double the chickpeas. 😁 I also did not use olives because I do not like them. I also accidentally added the onion into the sauce mixture. I used smoked paprika instead of regular because it makes everything tastier!! Also, no feta. I also think that roasting your own red pepper would be substantially tastier than using jarred, but I only had jarred roasted red pepper available and none fresh! I made my quinoa with mostly vegetable broth. I wasn't thinking and made 2 c of uncooked quinoa. Oops. I have way too much quinoa. Cest la vie!