Mexican(ish) Arugula Salad
Adapted from Cookie & Kate
I like having this salad for lunch because it comes together very quickly, and a serving for 2 uses half of a lot of ingredients, which means you can make it for lunch again during the week. You could probably make the 4 serving version right away, but I’m also hesitant to leave dressed greens in the fridge for longer than one day.
Dressing
1/4 cup olive oil
2 limes
3/4 teaspoon of cumin
1/2 teaspoon of salt
Pour the olive oil into a small bowl or dressing shaker, if you have one.
Squeeze/juice the limes into the bowl or shaker, and whisk or shake to combine.
Add the cumin and salt, and whisk or shake again to combine.
Salad
1/2 cup of uncooked quinoa (I always make 1 cup, since I know I’m having this salad again with the rest of the ingredients)
1/2 cup of pepitas (raw pumpkin seeds)
Half of a 5 oz container of arugula
Half of a bunch of green onions/scallions
Half of a bunch of cilantro
1/4 cup-ish sun-dried tomatoes (more or less to your preferences)
4 oz feta
Make the quinoa. I use my instant pot, so 1/2 cup of quinoa cooks with 3/4 cup water for 3 minutes on high pressure and natural releases for 10 minutes (1 cup of quinoa cooks with 1 1/2 cups water, same times). If you’re not using the instant pot, the stovetop method is also fairly quick but you can definitely do this step in advance if you want to save time. Let the quinoa cool while you get everything else ready.
Toast the pepitas in a pan over medium heat, just until you start to hear popping sounds. Set aside to cool briefly.
Chop the green onions, the cilantro, and the sun-dried tomatoes. I go for more of a rough chop on everything, but you may prefer smaller pieces of green onion if you don’t love them the way I do.
Toss the arugula, chopped ingredients, and quinoa in a large bowl, crumble the feta over it, and throw the pepitas on top. Give the dressing a final whisk or shake, and pour it over. Mix everything well to combine, serve, and enjoy!
Leave a comment if you made this salad with any of your own modifications, and let me know how it went!