Chickpea Salad

Dried chickpeas are a staple in my pantry, they are highly nutritious, a great substitute for meat and incredibly delicious. I understand why people prefer tinned, but I chose dried for several reasons

1. They are cheaper
2. They cost less to transport and store, therefore better for the environment
3. You can easily control the volume you cook 
4. I think they taste better

They make your humus fluffier and your salads fresher. It isn't that difficult to think, “hmmm I’ve been thinking about making a bean salad tomorrow, how about I soak those chickpeas”. It's a good habit to get into, quite often I will soak some chickpeas and decide the next day what to do with them.

Chickpea Salad

½ cup dried chickpeas soaked over night

1 tomato deseeded

1 cucumber deseeded

¼ of a red capsicum

1 stick of celery

¼ green apple

Fresh chilli

1 spring onion, green and whites OR a few slices of red onion

A mixture of fresh herbs including parsley, mint, coriander, dill, basil

Juice of 1 lime/lemon OR vinegar

Extra virgin olive oil

salt/pepper

1. Put the soaked chickpeas in a saucepan with cold water (NO SALT) and bring to boil, let it simmer for ~10 minutes. Some chef recommend you remove the scum that forms through boiling process, like you would for a chicken stock but I’m unsure what difference it makes and do it if i remember.
2. While the chickpeas are cooking, finely chop all other ingredients. Chopping everything finely is the most important step because it means every mouthful contains a mix of all the tasty vegetables and herbs. I deseed the cucumber and tomato because it keeps the salad crunchy - but I do eat the seeds!
3. Keep an eye on the chickpeas, after ~7-8 minutes take one out, slice it in half and have a nibble. They are cooked when the knife cuts through them easily and they are soft and fluffy inside. It may take up to 15 minutes depending on the chickpeas and how long you soaked them for. When they are cooked, strain and run under cold water to cool.
4. Combine all ingredients! You can wait for the chickpeas to get cold, or make the salad warm, it comes down to personal preference and personally I enjoy both. but if you want it to last a couple of days, put the cooked chickpeas in the fridge and only assemble when they are cold.

This salad is really nice on its own, sprinkled on a garden salad or with fish or chicken. Sometimes I add a small tin of tuna if I feel the need to up the protein

Modifications…

This recipe is highly adaptable and easily modified. I’ve added a sprinkling of Mangal Chat Masala to todays salad, but it is by no means essential.  If you don’t have all these ingredients the essential components are 1) Some kind of onion, 2) fresh herbs and 3) tomato. You can also make this as a 4 bean mix salad, in which case use tinned 4 bean mix.

Warning: it is possible to overdose on chickpeas, they are very high in fibre, which for people like me with sensitive stomachs, it can get a bit hard wearing on your insides. So if you are new to chickpeas, take it slow and listen to your body – if it tells you it’s sick of chickpeas, put down the fork!