Addictively Yummy Chickpea Salad
While we were out in California a few weeks ago, we had lunch one day at Lemonade and I'm still thinking about it! Besides having amazing lemonade in several different flavors (duh), the restaurant offers a wide variety of really interesting and different salads, all of which you're allowed to taste as you stand on line and tell the server which ones to scoop on your plate. It's so easy to eat healthy there because everything is so delicious!! So wish there was one around here. But since there isn't, I decided to recreate the experience and thus, this Addictively Yummy Chickpea Salad. If chickpeas make you happy, you are going to LOVE this inexpensive and easy-to-make salad.
I never sort of know what to make for lunch. If I'm out, maybe I'll get a salad or a yogurt, but more often I'm home, STARVING and do the graze-in-front-of-the-fridge thing. A bite or two of this leftover or that, a handful of crackers and I'm done. Now you know all my secrets!! With my kitchen still under renovation, there are few leftovers around because I'm cooking so little so as of late, I just sort of stare mournfully into the fridge, hoping something wonderful and tempting will magically appear! To preemptively go out and buy something just doesn't occur to me, so the realization that I can make salads in our makeshift bedroom kitchen, has made lunchtime happy again!!
This one is extremely versatile and full of crunch and flavor. And it comes together in a matter of minutes and lasts for up to a week in the fridge. It's full of chickpeas, carrots, yellow raisins, red onions, fresh parsley and feta all coated in a light lemon-enhanced mayonnaise dressing, but you could easily sub in scallions for the onions, carrots for the celery, add cucumber, leave out the feta, swap in craisins or nuts for the raisins--your imagination's the limit. It's perfect on a sandwich, as a cracker cover or just on it's own. Is it lunchtime yet?!!
Addictively Yummy Chickpea Salad
Makes about 4 servings
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons mayonnaise (I used light)
- the juice of one lemon
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 large carrot, peeled and diced
- 2-3 slices of red onion, minced
- 1/3 cup golden raisins
- One 15-ounce can chickpeas, rinsed and drained (if you have the time, peel off as many of the skins of the peas as you can--it only takes a few minutes and the texture of the salad will be better)
- 1-2 handfuls fresh parsley, chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh chopped chives
The Recipe
1. In a large bowl whisk together the mayo, lemon juice and a pinch or two of salt and pepper.
2. Add the carrots, onion and raisins to the bowl and toss. Coarsely chop or smash the chickpeas a bit and add them to the bowl as well. Add in the parsley and chives. Toss everything together well and taste. Add more salt and pepper if necessary. You can serve this right away or let it sit in the fridge for about an hour or so to let the flavors meld together better.
3. Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container for up to a week in the fridge.
Enjoy!
Note: Recipe adapted from The Sprouted Kitchen Bowl + Spoon by Sara Forte. I tinkered with ingredients and proportions.
