Chickpea Salad

This was supposed to be a new menu in the Summer Menu series. Alas, I cannot lie. The crab cakes you can barely see in the picture (on the left with roasted red pepper coulis) were terrible!  I’ll have to revisit that recipe sometime.

So, as a peace offering, I am giving you the recipe for a delicious chickpea salad. It’s really, really good and light and healthy. Perfect for a hot, humid day–I hate those days. I first ate a similar salad seven years ago (this July) when I moved to NY. Boy, does that bring back some memories!

I really like chickpea salad.  It makes a perfect side dish, or a hearty lunch on its own.  I still can’t quite decide if I like chickpea salad plain or full of other goodies…but all I know is that it’s delicious any way, shape or form.

Chickpea Salad

Ingredients:

2 (15 oz.) cans chickpeas (also called garbanzo beans)
1/4 cup finely chopped red onion (you could also use shallots)

a few tablespoons minced parsley
juice of 2 lemons
2-3 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1-2 tsp. Dijon mustard
1 garlic clove, finely minced
salt (to taste)
fresh ground black pepper

Instructions:
Drain and rinse chickpeas. Place the chickpeas and onion in a large bowl. Whisk the parsley, lemon juice, olive oil, mustard, and garlic together in a small bowl. Pour over the chickpeas and onion. Toss to coat.  Taste and season well with salt and black pepper.  Serve at room temperature or slightly chilled.

You can also serve it over salad greens.

Add-ins and substitutions:
chopped tomato
chopped red pepper
sliced green onions (in place of red onion)
cilantro, dill, or other fresh herbs (in place of or in addition to parsley)

Other fabulous chickpea salad recipes:

Layered Greek-Style Chickpea Salad with Oregano Vinaigrette

Salmon Cakes with Leeks and Tartar Sauce and Chickpea Salad