A colorful chickpea grain bowl you can make for lunch in under 30 minutes

This is the lunch I make when the fridge looks empty but the cupboard still has a can of chickpeas and a bag of grains. It comes together in the time it takes the quinoa to cook, and every element can be swapped for whatever you have at home.

The trick is the chickpeas. Fried in a hot pan with a little oil and spice, they turn crisp at the edges and give the bowl the crunch it needs.

Ingredients (serves 2)

• 120 g quinoa, rinsed (or bulgur or couscous)
• 1 can chickpeas (400 g), drained and patted dry
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika and a pinch of ground cumin
• 1 ripe avocado
• 200 g cherry tomatoes, halved
• 2 handfuls of salad leaves or baby spinach
• half a cucumber, sliced
• a few slices of red onion
• salt and pepper

For the dressing: 2 tablespoons tahini, juice of 1 lemon, 1 small grated garlic clove, 3 to 4 tablespoons water, salt.

Method

Put the quinoa in a pot with twice its volume of salted water. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer for about 15 minutes, until the water is absorbed. Turn off the heat and leave it covered for five minutes.

While the quinoa cooks, heat the olive oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the chickpeas and fry for 8 to 10 minutes, shaking the pan now and then, until golden and crisp. Sprinkle with paprika, cumin and salt in the last minute.

Whisk the tahini with the lemon juice and garlic. It will thicken at first; add water a spoonful at a time until it is smooth and pourable. Season with salt.

Fluff the quinoa with a fork and divide it between two bowls. Arrange the leaves, tomatoes, cucumber, onion and sliced avocado in sections on top, then add the warm chickpeas. Drizzle with the dressing and finish with black pepper.

Tips and swaps

To take it to work, pack the dressing separately and slice the avocado just before eating, or add a squeeze of lemon to stop it browning. Feta, a soft-boiled egg or toasted seeds make good extras. Leftover roasted vegetables from dinner work well too.