Recipe: Chickpea Salad

I love chickpeas.  In a salad bar salad.  As a snack on their own.  In Mediterranean recipes.  And I love that they’re part of hummus, which can always be found in our refrigerator.  One of these days, I need to share Beth’s hummus recipe.  Good stuff.  But for today, a recipe from me … Chickpea Salad.

Super simple, and a perfect way to take advantage of whatever crisp lovelies your local grocery store or farmer’s market are offering up.  Use it as a guideline and mix and match with some of your own favorite ingredients too.  And if you want to change it up even further, instead of serving it as a traditional salad, as I did, it also tastes great in lettuce leaves or wrapped in a tortilla with a protein of your choice.

However you serve it, it’s a great way to celebrate Spring flavors and chickpeas… all in one yummy bite.  Ripe, buttery avocado?  Check.  Fresh cilantro?  Check.  Juicy tomatoes?  Check.  Guilt-free eating?  Check, check, check.

As if you need another reason to eat chickpeas, did you know that one serving gives you 51% of your recommended daily needs for fiber?  It is packed full of good stuff, helps fight off bad cholesterol, and is clean eating at its finest, so eat up, baby!

I’ll be back here tomorrow with an extra post for the week… until then!

Project 365
April 14, 2011, Photo #103
New Greek Inspired Turkey Burger recipe that I created tonight for the folks at Betty Crocker. Yummy stuff that I totally burned my tongue on.

Chickpea Salad
Recipe courtesy of Cate O’Malley

1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 ripe avocado, roughly chopped into bite-size pieces
1 large plum tomato, chopped
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
dash of hot sauce
3 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 lemon, juiced

In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients, folding gently so as not to mash the avocado.  Serve.

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