Chickpea and Asparagus Quinoa

I adapted another one of Heidi Swanson's fab recipes from her blog 101 Cookbooks tonight. I am on a major vegan kick right now and she's got some incredibly tasty options in her archives! She uses brown rice in this recipe, but I wanted to substitute quinoa. She drizzles with a homemade tahini dressing that is to-die-for! I made a little extra and will definitely use throughout the week on other dishes, like sauteed kale or serve with hummus and veggies.

Ingredients
extra-virgin olive oil
1 14-ounce can of chickpeas, drained
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 medium yellow onion, chopped
1 bunch of asparagus, cut into 1-inch segments
2 cups cooked quinoa
1 cup almond slices, toasted
fine grain sea salt

Tahini Dressing
1 garlic clove, smashed and chopped
1/4 cup tahini
zest of one lemon
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
2 Tbsp hot water
1/2 tsp fine grain sea salt

Make the dressing by whisking together the garlic, tahini, lemon zest and juice, and olive oil. Add the hot water to thin a bit and then the salt. Set aside.

Add olive oil to a big skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chickpeas and sprinkling of salt. Let the beans saute for a couple of minutes (Heidi recommends waiting for some crusty color on them). Add the garlic and onions. Stir for a minute. Stir in the asparagus with another pinch of salt, cover with a lid for a minute or two to steam- just until the asparagus brightens and softens up slightly. Uncover and stir in the quinoa and almond slices, reserving a few almonds for the garnish. Taste and add more salt if needed. Serve into bowls and drizzle with a little of the tahini dressing to your liking.

Serves about 4.