Chickpea Salad
A Chickpea Salad for every Occasion
This easy Chickpea Salad is one of my fail safe recipes for taking to a party. It tastes light, crisp, looks beautiful and the best part, it tastes better after it has been sitting for awhile. What better Salad to bring to a party than one you can make hours ahead of time and gets better the longer the drive. What better dish to arrive with when fashionable late.
Chickpeas have such a wonderful nuttiness about them. Surround them with a handful of sweet dried Currants, some sliced Red Peppers and the sharpness of Green and Red Onion. Topped off with the fresh taste of Parsley and Thyme and the Tartness of Lemon, you have an instant treat.
Maybe the best part of this Chickpea Salad, it tastes better the next day. Make sure to make enough for leftovers.
Slicing is the key
Cutting everything in this Chickpea Salad small or thin helps to give it a nice balance. Slicing the Red and Orange Peppers thin means getting a slice in every bite. Slicing the Red Onion thin gives you the Onion flavour without too much sharpness. And using Dried Currants instead of Raisins means wonderful sweet little pops with nothing stuck in your teeth.
Dressing up
The dressing is very well balanced with citrus, aromatic, and sweet notes. The combo of Lemon Juice and White Wine Vinegar give a brightness to the Salad. Parsley and Thyme continue that trend for bright and fresh. The Honey and Dijon Mustard add sweet and tangy notes while the Olive Oil ties it all together. Put everything into a mason jar and shake but remember to shake well so you don’t leave the Honey stuck to the bottom of the jar.
One last thing, don’t forget to give the Salad a good toss right before you serve it. This Salad is brilliant after sitting awhile but it does need a little help getting dressed again.
A quick dietary note: this Chickpea Salad is easy to make Gluten Free. Use a Dijon Mustard that is made with White Wine Vinegar instead of plain White Vinegar, now you are Gluten Free. In case you didn’t know regular White Vinegar is usually Wheat based. Therefore someone with a Gluten intolerance might be able to use it but a celiac could not.
Chickpea Salad
Ingredients
- 540 ml Chickpea 2 cans
- 1 Red Pepper ( or 1/2 Red & 1/2 Yellow ) Sliced thin
- 1/2 med Red onion Small thin slices
- 2 Green Onions Sliced thin on the bias
- 57 ml Pimento ( optional ) Drain and chop even smaller
- 1/2 C Dried Currants use Raisins in a pinch
Dressing
- 1/4 C Parsley Finely chopped
- 1-2 Tbsp Thyme Finely Chopped
- 3 Tbsp Lemon Juice
- 3 Tbsp White Wine Vinegar
- 1/3 c Olive Oil
- 2 Tbsp Honey
- 1 Tbsp Dijon Mustard White Wine base for Gluten Free
- 2 pinches Salt & Pepper Large Pinches
Instructions
- Drain a couple cans of your favourite Chickpeas, place in a strainer and rinse them off. Let them sit in the strainer while you are prepping everything else. This will give them a chance to shed as much water as possible.
- Slice either a whole Red Pepper, or half a Red and Yellow Pepper, into strips an inch to an inch and a half wide. Now slice the Pepper pieces into thin little morsels.
- Cut a Red Onion in half and remove the skin. Lay it flat side down on the cutting board and cut lengthwise to create three sections, make sure not to cut all the way through the core, that is what will hold it together as you slice. Now slice as thinly as your knife will let you… bet you wish you had sharpened those knives now.
- Finish by cutting the Green Onion on the bias all the way to the root. If you are using Pimento’s drain them and chop into tiny pieces so they will spread around.
- Place everything you've washed or cut into a mixing bowl along with the Dried Currants and move onto the dressing.
Dressing
- Finely chop the Thyme and Parsley, fire all the Dressing ingredients into a mason jar or something with a tight lid. Shake vigorously, with Love of course, and make sure the Honey isn't stuck to the bottom.
- Pour over the Chickpea and Peppers and mix. Place in the fridge until dinner time or party time, give a little stir before serving and Enjoy!