Chickpea Salad

I’ve been lazy about cooking lately, but please allow me some grace. I spent the past several years actively working on a cookbook, and now that the manuscript is finished, I think I just needed a break. My creative energy has gone into the design phase instead: fonts, colors, format, all the micro decisions you take for granted. Plus, I’m cooking for one in a small kitchen with no dishwasher. Simple meals are about all I’ve got in me, which brings me to the simplest chickpea salad.

I love salads and have to eat them regularly. But I don’t always love lettuce. Is that strange? Hear me out. Not all salads need lettuce or kale or arugula. My favorite salads at restaurants are the ones that don’t come with any lettuce at all, like caprese, tabbouleh, citrus salad with beets and goat cheese, or watermelon and tomato salad with burrata. I love any salad that incorporates fruit. Add some pear, some citrus, some persimmons. Oh, and kumquat! It’s always a nice surprise to find kumquat in a salad!

Saying I don’t like lettuce in my salad reminds me of my mother, who once announced, “I want a chocolate muffin, but with no chocolate chips.” I looked at her like she was crazy. Was it her brain injury talking? Where can you find a chocolate muffin with no chocolate chips?! It’s like when she says she doesn’t like the beach because of the sand, and how she doesn’t want the sand to touch her toes. She thinks we should wear boots to the beach instead. Anyway, I digress. See? I can’t even talk about food without thinking of my mother. Hence, the memoir cookbook about her.

I came here to talk about chickpeas, and somehow we ended up at my mother’s beach preferences. Back to the salad.

I try to eat vegetarian at least three times a week, and when I do, I make sure I get my protein and iron. I always have cans of chickpeas in my cabinet because I also like to roast them, season them with Tajin, and eat them as a snack. This is an easy chickpea salad recipe, and you can serve it with additional protein on the side. I didn’t measure, so I’m sharing a loose recipe for your inspiration and modification.

Serves about 4-6

Ingredients:

• 1 (15 oz) can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed

• 1 long English cucumber, peeled, quartered lengthwise, and sliced

• 1 red bell pepper, diced

• ½ cup of diced red onion

• shallots, optional (I had them on hand so I just threw them in)

• ¼ cup of diced pepperoncini

• ½ cup fresh dill, roughly chopped

Dressing (I eyeballed these amounts, so taste and adjust as needed):

• about ½ cup of extra virgin olive oil

• about 2 Tbsp white vinegar

• 1 Tbsp pepperoncini juice

• 1-2 tsp Dijon mustard

• 1 tsp oregano

• ½ tsp salt

• 1 tsp black pepper

• ½ tsp red pepper flakes

• 1 garlic clove, minced, optional

Directions:

Whisk the dressing ingredients together in a small bowl. Combine the ingredients for the salad in a large bowl. Pour the dressing over and toss.

Optionally, add protein to your salad (like rotisserie chicken) or serve the salad over labneh or Greek yogurt.