[click_to_tweet tweet="Pesto Chick Pea and Kaniwa Salad is a light, flavorful grain salad made with fresh basil pesto, chick peas, and tomatoes. #salad" quote="Pesto Chick Pea and Kaniwa Salad is a light, flavorful grain salad made with fresh basil pesto, chick peas, and tomatoes."]
Kaniwa (pronounced "ka-nyi-wa") is a small, nutty, grain-like food from the Andes Mountains in Peru and is a fairly new product to the United States. It was a staple grain of the ancient Aztec and Incan cultures, is gluten free and is a good source of both protein and fiber. It is much smaller than it's cousin, quinoa; however it does not contain saponins so you do not need to rinse it prior to cooking.
I first found this product in my local grocery store a few weeks ago and couldn't wait to try it since I have this new found love for quinoa and I really liked it. As you can see, not only is it smaller than quinoa, it's also a reddish-brown color. My daughter and I really liked this Pesto Chick Pea & Kaniwa Salad as it was very flavorful and filling. You can serve it as a side dish or as a main meal. ~Enjoy!
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Pesto Chick Pea and Kaniwa Salad
Ingredients
- 2 c. Water
- 1 c. Kaniwa, rinsed
- 1- 15(ounce) can Chick Peas, rinsed and drained
- 1 c. Grape Tomatoes, halved
- 1 Scallion, chopped
- ½ c. PreparedPesto
- 2 tbsp. Aged Balsamic Vinegar
Instructions
- Place the water in a pot and bring to a boil; then add the Kaniwa. Reduce heat to low, cover and allow to simmer until all of the water is absorbed; approximately 15-20 minutes.
- Place the Kaniwa in a bowl and allow to cool; then add the chick peas, tomatoes, scallion, pesto and vinegar. Mix well and refrigerate until ready to serve.
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My Daily Jenn-ism says
🙂 <3
Kirsten Madaus says
Carrie,
I'm glad to hear you had a fun vacation--though, yeah, VA . . . watch out.
When we moved from VA to OH I learned that you pull over for emergency vehicles heading towards you in the oncoming lanes of multi-lane roads. Here, when you hear sirens, everyone pulls over regardless of which direction the vehicle is traveling. It's unusual for me, but when in Rome . . . no idea if it's a law or a custom.
Kaniwa--never heard of it, but I'll look for it in the store.
Thanks!
Carrie Farias says
Hi Kirsten, We got pulled over for speeding in VA about 15 years ago and ever since we really watch our speed. It's a good law but fairly new so we never heard of it. The police officer though was obviously targeting NY/NJ vehicles as those were the only ones he pulled over since they're not going to go back to VA to fight it. I don't know how you're supposed to go from 70 to 25mph in a hot second when you realize someone is pulled over though and you can't move into the left lane due to other traffic. $161 later...OUCH!!! 🙂